The 14th Key
by Xed14thKey
Summary: When a mishap in TWTNW occurs with weapons, Xemnas has someone come to fix them. Simple, right? But, when Xemnas finds that this person is more powerful than he thought, he has other things in mind...RoxasXOC, aka RoXed pairing : Enjoy!
1. Someone's in trouble

"VEXENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Xemnas shouted, furious. All of the Organization members had left their weapons in the Weapons Room for a short while, and when they returned, they all found that their weapons (along with the rest of the room) were all piles of ashes and soot. As you can imagine, all of them were VERY angry. There was a rather large hole in the wall (presumed to be the outcome of an explosion), leading to the Science Lab. Whatever had happened, they were all sure that Vexen would know…

A few seconds later, Vexen came running into the room, nervously. He smiled sheepishly.

"Y-yes?" he stuttered. Everyone turned towards him, anger painted on their faces.

"What happened, Vexen?" Xemnas asked, crossing his arms and trying to keep a calm tone. Vexen took a breath.

"Well…you see…I was testing a few unstable chemicals, and I…."

"BLEW UP ALL OF OUR WEAPONS???" Axel yelled, walking towards Vexen, getting ready to kill him. Vexen backed up.

"I didn't mean to! It was an accident!" he said. Larxene rolled her eyes.

"You always have to have accidents, don't you?" she snarled. Vexen looked over at Demyx, who was holding piles of what used to be his Sitar. He looked like he was close to tears.

"This was my favorite Sitar…" He said quietly, sadly. Saix rolled his eyes.

"Grow up Demyx." He said angrily. Demyx glared at him.

"The only good thing is that your weapon is gone too!" Saix advanced towards him.

"That doesn't mean I still can't use my hands to kill you!" He growled, his fists clenched. Demyx backed up behind Xigbar. Xigbar rolled his eyes.

"Look, just chill, ok dudes?" he said.

"But what are we going to do about our weapons?" Marluxia asked, somewhat sad about the loss of his Scythe. Luxord smiled.

"At least I don't have a weapon!" He held up his cards. Everyone glared at him.

"SHUT UP!" They all chorused. Luxord crossed his arms.

"Sheesh, just because some of us don't use fancy weapons, doesn't mean you have to be so sour about it!" he said. Suddenly, the room burst into loud arguing. Xemnas put his hands to his temples and tried to relieve the oncoming headache. Unfortunately, it didn't work.

"Everyone!" Xemnas shouted. The room grew quiet, with everyone looking at him. He sighed deeply in frustration.

"There is to be a meeting today—NOW…"

After they had all walked into the Main Meeting Room, and after they had settled down into their seats, Xemnas stood up from his chair. All of the chattering stopped, and everyone looked at him.

"Now that I have your attention, I'd like to inform you that, since everyone's weapons were destroyed except for mine, Zexion's, Luxord's, Larxene's, and Roxas', we will be getting new weapons—"

"NOOOO!!!!" Demyx shouted, close to tears again. "I don't want another weapon! I like my Sitar!" Axel then slapped Demyx in the back of his head to shut him up. Xemnas looked over at him in annoyance.

"Demyx." He said slowly, trying to stop himself from yelling at the dense boy. "We will be getting new versions of our weapons. Not new weapons entirely."

"Oh." Demyx said quietly, sinking into his chair. There were a few snickers from the other members. Xaldin looked up at Xemnas.

"But…how do we get new weapons?" he asked.

"Yeah…none of us can fix weapons, and none of us can make weapons." Lexaeus said. A small wave of murmurs flooded the room. Xemnas held up his had to silent them. It worked and he regained everyone's attention.

"That is exactly why I am hiring someone to create new weapons. They will stay with us until the weapons are complete." He said. Everyone looked around nervously.

"You mean, a Whole is going to stay with us Nobodies?" Zexion asked. Xemnas nodded.

"Yes. I have been recently referred to, what I'm told, an excellent weapons technician and expert." He said. There were a few approving nods

"How much Munny will this cost?" Saix asked. Xemnas raised his eyebrows.

"Surprisingly, none." Everyone was shocked.

"None? At all???" Vexen shouted in disbelief. Xemnas nodded.

"None."

"Are you serious?" Roxas shouted, also in disbelief. Xemnas sighed angrily.

"Yes. I am quite serious."

"How come?" Axel asked.

"Well," Xemnas started, "I'm not really sure. But I've been told that they take no money for their work, although it is always top quality." Some of the members nodded.

"When are they coming?" Roxas asked.

"Tomorrow." Xemnas replied. "Everyone, the meeting is concluded. You may leave." Everyone got up from their seats and started to leave. Xemnas pointed at Vexen.

"Except for you." He said. Vexen turned to face Xemnas. Xemnas crossed his arms. "I believe you have a mess to clean up." Vexen frowned; walking out the door and towards the Science Lab. Everyone snickered as they left the room.

"I wonder when they're gonna get here." Demyx said, slightly bored. Xemnas had all of the Nobodies sit in the living room to wait until the person that would make the new weapons came, so that they could all greet him.

"I don't know…" Marluxia said.

"What do you think he'll look like?" Larxene asked. Xaldin shrugged.

"I don't know…muscular maybe?" he said.

"Well yeah," Xigbar said, "they'd have to be strong to build weapons." Roxas crossed his arms.

"I think they'll have reddish-brown hair." He said. Everyone stared at him weirdly.

"What?" he asked. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Random much?" he said. A couple of the Nobodies laughed. Just then, there was a light knock on the door. Roxas jumped up.

"I'll get it!" he shouted excitedly. Xemnas walked over and pushed him back in his seat on the sofa.

"I'll answer it." He said, walking over to the door. Roxas crossed his arms in annoyance.

Xemnas opened the door and looked straight out, expecting to see a man about his height. But he saw no one. Then, he looked down to see, not a man,

But a girl.

One about Roxas' age.

He looked strangely at her. Why was she here? He thought.

"May I help you?" Xemnas asked, still wondering. She looked up at him, her pale gray eyes meeting his bright gold ones.

"Are you Xemnas?" she asked.

"Yes…" he said, confused. Why was this girl here? And where was the guy who'd make the weapons? He thought. Just then, the girl extended her hand, in a hand-shaking gesture, smiling.

"Hi, my name is Xedramon, and I'm here to make your weapons."


	2. He's a she?

Xemnas stood there, dumbfounded.

SHE was the technician and expert?

She hardly looked like she was 13!

He just stared at her, completely ignoring her hand-shaking gesture. Xedramon thought she may have offended him in some way, so she quickly lowered her outstretched hand. They stood there for another moment in silence, before Xemnas cleared his throat.

"You are the one I was referred to?" he asked, in disbelief. She nodded.

"You are the weapons technician and expert?" he asked, still not wanting to believe. She started to smile and nodded again.

"Yep, that's me." She said cheerfully. His reaction didn't bother her; she got it all the time. Xemnas nodded slowly.

"Come in, then…" he said, gesturing her inside. She stepped inside the large castle, and Xemnas closed the door behind her.

Xemnas walked back into the living room, where the 12 other Nobodies were anxiously waiting. As Xedramon slowly walked into the room, all of the members' mouths dropped in surprise.

The guy…was a GIRL???

They got a good look at her: She was a little shorter than Roxas. She had peach colored skin, and reddish-brown hair with black streaks in it that was straight and fell down to her lower back. Part of it covered the right side of her face. She was wearing a strapless yellowed-colored dress with red fringes at the top and the bottom of the dress. It came down a little above the middle of her thighs. Underneath she wore black tights that came down to her knees. She wore black shoes that had red at the tops. Two red and black belts were wrapped around her waist loosely; a red and black band was around the top of her left arm, and a red and black choker necklace with a black 'T' charm was around her neck. Slung around her shoulder was a medium-sized black drawstring bag. Roxas nudged Axel in his arm.

"At least I was right about the hair." He whispered. The two started to chuckle, along with Demyx who was nearby and had heard him. A quick look from Xemnas got them to shut up.

The sound of Xemnas loudly clearing his throat snapped the Nobodies out of starring at her, and it got their attention.

"Everyone, this is Xedramon—"

"Xed."

Xemnas looked down at Xedramon, who had just spoken.

"Excuse me?" He asked. She looked up at him.

"Xed. I prefer to be called Xed." She said simply. Xemnas looked over at Roxas.

"Roxas." He said. Roxas looked up at Xemnas.

"Show Xedramon where the Weapon Workshop is." He said. He then sighed. "I have a phone call to make…" Xemnas then walked off. Roxas then walked up to Xedramon.

"Hi! I'm Roxas." He said, smiling. Xedramon smiled back.

"I'm Xed. It's nice to meet you, Roxas." She said. Roxas smiled wider. He then beckoned her to a set of stairs that lead to a lower floor.

"This way." He said. She walked in front of him and started to walk down the stairs, with Roxas following her. As soon as they left, whispers could be heard…

The two walked in silence down the stairs and down a long hall. Roxas then decided to break the ice.

"So, Xed…" he said, looking for something to talk about. Xed looked at him.

"How old are you?" he asked. Wow, he thought. What a lame question. But there was something about Xed that made him nervous…and he never really got nervous…

"I'm 14." She said. "I'll turn 15 soon." She smiled. Roxas looked at her.

"Oh really? How soon?"

"A couple of days."

"What are you going to do for your birthday?" Xed shook her head.

"Nothing." Roxas seemed surprised.

"Nothing? But why?" Xed shrugged.

"I don't know…I never really celebrate it. I'm usually working, and it's not too important." She said, a hint of sadness in her words. She then looked up at Roxas and smiled. "How old are you?"

"15." He said. Xed nodded.

"So, where are you from?" Roxas asked.

"I'm from an island." She said. "It's really nice. And best of all—the moon always shines there." She smiled. Roxas looked at her.

"What's it called?" he asked. Xed crossed her arms.

"That's the strange thing—I can't remember its name. I haven't been there in a while. When all of the worlds were swallowed in darkness, mine was too." Roxas looked at the ground.

"Oh…I'm sorry…" he said. He meant it. Although The World That Never Was had become his new home, he'd be heartbroken if something had happened to his Twilight Town. She smiled, and Roxas looked up.

"That's ok. I'll find it one day." She said. Roxas smiled at her. He had just realized something about her—her smile was so…nice. Every time she smiled, he felt something warm up inside of him. He wasn't sure if nice was even the right word to describe it. It was more like…amazing. Pretty. Beautiful…

"Is this it?" Xed asked, stopping at a door next to them. Roxas looked up, and nodded.

"Yep." He said, turning the doorknob and opening the door for her.

They walked inside and turned on the light. It was evident that no one had been in this room for quite some time. Everything was covered in a fine layer of dust. There were cobwebs everywhere, and the room was very messy. But Xed didn't seem to mind. She gently brushed some dust off of a large workbench and set her bag on it. She was about to pull something out of her bag when she looked up at Roxas.

"You don't have to stay here, if you don't want to…" she said, disappointment lingering in her words. Roxas looked down at the ground.

"Well…I was…sorta hoping that…I could keep you company…" He said quietly, trying hard to not sound like he was somewhat begging to stay. He really wanted to hang around with Xed more. There was something about her that he liked a lot. Xed smiled again.

That really pretty smile.

"Sure!" She said, before looking down at the ground, blushing slightly. She didn't mean to sound as excited as she did. Roxas smiled back.

"ROXAS!!!"

A voice from upstairs, presumed to be Xemnas, was calling for him. Roxas grunted. He really didn't want to see what he wanted right now. Xed giggled softly at Roxas' reaction. Roxas couldn't help but smiling.

Her laugh was pretty, too.

"It doesn't seem like you have the choice at the moment." She said, smiling. Roxas shrugged, also smiling.

"I'll go see what he wants, and then I'll come back." He said. She nodded.

"Okay." She said. Roxas turned to leave out of the door.

"See ya." He said. She smiled again.

"See you later, Roxas." She said. Roxas stepped out of the door and closed it behind him. He sighed happily.

That really pretty smile. 


	3. Introductions

Roxas walked quickly up two flights of stairs, and into Xemnas' office. He would've used a portal to get there, but he wasn't in any rush. He opened the door slightly and looked in. Xemnas was sitting at his desk, scribbling words on a piece of paper. He looked up at Roxas.

"There you are, Roxas. Come here." He said, still looking at him. Roxas walked towards his desk and stood in front of it. Xemnas stood, his hands clasped behind his back.

"I trust you've already introduced yourself to Xedramon, am I right?" he asked. Roxas nodded.

"Yes. We talked a little." He said, not wanting to mention too much. He wasn't sure if Xed wanted that stuff they talked about to be known. Xemnas nodded once.

"Good. Now listen carefully," he said. "I want you to keep an eye on Xedramon." Roxas smiled. He was going to like his job.

"Stop smiling Roxas, this is serious." Xemnas said. Roxas frowned instantly. He hadn't meant to make his smile so noticeable.

"I have a feeling about this girl…good or bad, I'm not sure." He said. He looked out a nearby window. "I want you to make sure she doesn't do anything…" he shook his head, not bothering to finish the sentence. He looked back at Roxas. "Just look out for her. And if anything weird happens…let me know." Roxas looked confused, but regardless, nodded and turned towards the door and walked out. Xemnas sat down in his chair. He put his hands up to his temples, trying to sooth another headache. It didn't work.

"I still have that call to make…"

"Hey! Roxas!" Demyx called as Roxas came walking into the kitchen. He and Axel were sitting at the table, drinking a soda.

"Hey." Roxas replied, standing at the table. Axel looked up at him.

"So…" he said, smiling like an idiot. "Has Roxas got a girlfriend yet?" Roxas' cheeks turned bright red.

"Wha…? Wha-what are you talking about?" he stuttered, choking on his own surprise. Demyx laughed.

"You know, the two of them really do make a great couple." He said, smiling. Roxas narrowed his eyes.

"Cut it out!" he said, annoyed. Demyx and Axel decided to lay off.

"So you talk to her yet?" Demyx asked. Roxas nodded.

"Yeah, sorta." He smiled. "You guys wanna come meet her?" He asked. Axel shrugged.

"Sure." He said, standing up from the table, Demyx standing up as well. Roxas smiled and the three Nobodies started to walk downstairs towards the Weapon Workshop.

The three reached the Workshop door, and knocked softly on it. No one answered, so Roxas slowly opened it. When he stepped inside, the room looked completely different. Everything was dusted off, and everything was clean and neat. Now, he could actually see a window. And, he could see a lot of large, shiny, equipment.

"Whoa..." The three chorused, as they ventured into the room. None of them had really been inside this room, and none of them had actually seen it clean. The last time it was used was when Xaldin tried to learn how to fix weapons…and that didn't go too well…

"What's all this stuff?" Axel said suddenly, moving towards a large desk. It had some papers with sketches on it, a few art pads, some pencils, a small calendar, and a picture frame with a picture in it. Demyx shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess this is her stuff." He said. He looked over at the calendar.

"Hey!" He said excitedly. Axel and Roxas looked at him. "Xed's birthday is this Friday!"

"She's turning 15." Roxas said.

"How'd you know that?" Demyx asked.

"She told me." Roxas said. Axel picked up the picture frame. There was a guy in the picture. The guy was wearing a white t-shirt, black baggy jeans, black boots, and black fighting gloves that showed his fingers. He had long, raven-black hair that fell to his shoulders, and fell down in front of his face, just passing his eyes. Through his hair shined a pair of golden-yellow eyes.

"Who's this guy?" he asked.

"Kuxir."

"AHHH!!!" Demyx, Roxas, and Axel screamed in unison at the voice behind them. They spun around to see Xed standing behind them, slightly surprised at their reaction. After a moment she smiled and started laughing.

"You know, you shouldn't be snooping around in other people's things." She said, still smiling. Roxas smiled too.

"Sorry…we weren't snooping, we were just curious." He said. Xed shook her head.

"No worries." She looked up at Axel and Demyx. "Who are you guys?"

"Hi, I'm Demyx." Demyx said with a smile.

"The name's Axel, got it memorized?" Axel said. Xed smiled at his introduction.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you both." She said. She turned her attention towards the picture frame.

"Kuxir." Axel raised an eyebrow in confusion. Xed smiled.

"The guy's name in the picture is Kuxir." She said. The three of them nodded.

"He's your brother?" Demyx asked.

"Best friend." She replied. "We met a while ago, on the island I lived on. He moved there and stayed there for a while. But he left home suddenly." She sighed unhappily. "He never said why." They all stood there in silence for a moment.

"So…" Roxas said, trying to break the ice. "You draw?" Roxas mentally kicked himself. Another stupid question. Way to go Roxas. Xed smiled.

"Not really, those are just for weapon designs." She said, picking one up.

"Can we see?" Axel asked. Xed nodded.

"Sure." She handed the pad to Axel, who held it so that all three of the Nobodies could see it. They flipped through the pages, looking at swords, shields, staffs, and many other weapons they never knew existed.

"These are really good!" Demyx said. Axel nodded.

"Awesome!"

"Really cool!" Roxas said. Xed smiled.

"Thanks." She said. Axel handed the book back to her.

"Hey, did you want to meet everyone else in the Organization?" Roxas asked. Xed smiled and nodded.

"I'd love to!" she said. Roxas smiled. That feeling came back—the one he got when she smiled. The four of them walked out of the room, and up the stairs, towards where everyone was.


	4. Give me a chance

The four of them walked up another flight of stairs. Axel, Demyx, and Roxas expected everyone to be in the living room, so they decided to head there.

"So you can really make weapons?" Demyx asked. Xed looked over at him.

"Yeah, is it really that hard to believe?" she replied, slightly amused. Demyx seemed a little embarrassed.

"I didn't mean it like that…it's just…" he started, trying to find the right words.

"You seem sorta young to be doing that stuff." Axel finished. Xed shrugged.

"It's what I do." She said simply. Roxas looked at her.

"So do you fight?" he asked. Xed smiled at him.

That really pretty smile.

"Of course! I love to fight!" she said. Roxas smiled.

"What's your weapon?" Axel asked. Xed narrowed her eyes, as if she was thinking. She crossed her arms.

"Well, you won't believe me, but I fight with a—"

"Hello?"

She was cut off by a voice that was coming from Xemnas' office. They were all curious, so the four of them walked quietly over to the door, and listened. In the room, Xemnas was holding a phone to his ear. He looked bored. Then, he looked at the ceiling.

"Hello?" he repeated. There was silence. Suddenly Xemnas nodded.

"Hello, this is Xemnas."

There was silence. Xemnas sighed.

"Yes, I'm calling about the weapons creator you recommended me to."

More silence. Xemnas nodded.

"Yes, there happens to be a problem. A LARGE problem."

More silence. Xemnas narrowed his eyes.

"Have you ever seen Xedramon?"

More silence. Xemnas rolled his eyes.

"Then you know how young she is."

There was silence. Xemnas seemed to be ticked off.

"What's the problem??? What do you mean 'What's the problem?'??? You sent me a 13 year-old girl to make my weapons!!!"

"I'm 14!" Xed hissed quietly. There was more silence. Xemnas gritted his teeth.

"You honestly expect me to believe that she can make weapons?" he yelled. Roxas looked down at Xed. She seemed sort of hurt at what Xemnas said. But nevertheless they continued to listen.

"There's no way that girl can make weapons! I mean, she doesn't even look strong!!" he said. Xed seemed more angry than hurt now. They could hear whoever that was on the other line laughing at Xemnas' reaction. Xemnas seemed purely angry now.

"Give her a chance?? I don't have time to give her a chance!" he yelled. Xed gritted her teeth. The guy on the other line said something. Xemnas laughed.

"There's more to her than it seems?" he said, snorting. "All I see is a little kid who thinks she can—"

BAM!

Demyx, Axel, and Roxas looked down at Xed in surprise. She had just punched the wall next to the door—HARD—and left a dent. She then got to her feet and walked briskly towards the end of the hall, towards the stairs leading back to the Weapon Workshop. Roxas ran after her.

"Xed!" He yelled, trying to keep up with her. Man, she was fast. He chased her all the way back to the Workshop. She went to open the door, when he finally caught up with her and grabbed her wrist. She looked up at him. Her face showed an expression of pure anger, and her eyes shined with determination. She pulled her wrist out of his grip.

"Xed," Roxas said, slightly out of breath, "Xemnas meant tha—"

"I know exactly what Xemnas meant, Roxas." She interrupted angrily. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." She said, before opening the door and shutting it closed. Roxas tried to open it. The door was locked. Roxas sighed.

"See you later." He said, before walking away slowly.

Roxas woke up. He looked over at his clock: 5:28. He grunted. He never really woke up this early, but he decided to today. He and Axel were going to practice fighting, and he wanted to get in some practice by himself. He sat up in bed.

I wonder if Xed's all right…He thought. Since what had happened last night, Xed was in the Workshop for the rest of the night. She didn't come out, even when he asked her to come join him for dinner. He was sort of…worried about her. He quickly got dressed and made his way towards the Workshop.

Roxas knocked lightly on the Workshop door.

"Xed?" he said softly. He didn't know why he was talking softly—everyone was asleep two floors above this one. He waited. No answer. He knocked again. There was still no response. Roxas then opened the door a little bit and looked inside.

No one was here.

He opened the door all the way and walked in. He then looked around and saw something amazing lying on the workbench.

It was Saix's Claymore.

"Woah…" he breathed, moving closer. It looked exactly like his first one, but a lot…better. The edges were narrower, and sharper. The handle had been thinned for a better grip, and it had groves in the edges. It was a light gray-blue color, with pale moon-yellow streaks on it.

It was amazing.

And Xed had built it?

Roxas walked into the kitchen, and out towards the training area outside.

"Good morning."

Roxas jumped, startled. He turned around to see Xed, sitting at the kitchen table, drawing in one of her sketchpads. She seemed happy, like what happened yesterday didn't happen. But to be safe, he decided not to bring it up. Roxas smiled.

"Good morning." He said, walking over to where Xed was sitting. He looked over her shoulder. "What are you drawing?" Xed looked up at him.

"Axel's new weapon." She said, returning to her sketchpad. Roxas cocked his head.

"How do you design a weapon?" he asked, sitting in a seat next to her. She smiled, not looking up.

"Well, I'll show you with Axel's Chakrams." She said, moving the paper so that it was between them. In order to be able to mark on it, Xed moved closer to Roxas, the sides of their faces almost touching. Roxas could feel the heat rising to his cheeks. He looked down at her paper to see a rough sketch of Axel's weapon.

"First, I start off with a sketch of the old weapon. Then, I think of ways to enhance it." She said. Roxas nodded.

"I can make the spikes on Axel's Chakrams narrower, to cut down air resistance. I can also add small grooves along the base to it to cut back the air resistance as well. I can sharpen the spikes for a more 'deadly' effect, and I can make grooves in the handles to that they are easier to grip. I can then cover the weapon with a thin layer of flammable material, and then cover it with an even thinner layer of fire resistant material. This'll make the weapon burn longer. And finally I can make the weapon's base black, so that it'll burn hotter when set on fire."

As she spoke, she sketched the plans on the paper. And Roxas watched as the weapon transformed before his eyes.

Wow. He thought. She really knows her stuff! Xemnas was so wrong to have doubted her.

"Morning lovebirds!" Axel called as he walked down the stairs into the kitchen. Xed and Roxas instantly moved away from where they were sitting, creating some distance between them.

"We're not lovebirds, Axel." Roxas said, slightly annoyed, and blushing. He looked over at Xed. Her face was just as red as his was. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Sure." He said. He then sat down at the table. "So Roxas, you ready for our fight today?" Xed looked up.

"You two are fighting today?" she asked. Roxas nodded.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna take him down!" he said, laughing. Xed smiled. Axel smiled too.

"As if!" he said.

"Hey, that's my line!" Xigbar said, walking into the kitchen. The three of them looked up at him. Roxas stood up.

"Xed, this is Xigbar. Xigbar, this is Xed." He said. Xed stood up and smiled.

"Nice to meet you." She said. Xigbar smiled, and then nudged Roxas in his arm.

"She's a keeper." He whispered, loud enough for them all to hear. Roxas blushed, along with Xed. Axel and Xigbar chuckled.

"So…umm…you want to come watch the fight?" Roxas asked, hoping to change the subject. Xed nodded quickly, wanting to change the subject too.

"Sure!" She said. Roxas, Axel, Xed, and Xigbar all walked outside to prepare themselves for the fight…


	5. More than meets the eye

The outside fighting area was huge. There was a large dirt arena in the shape of a circle. It was about the size of the Hollow Bastion marketplace. All around it was a large a metal fence, rising up from the ground, and was about the height of one Xemnas standing on the shoulder of another Xemnas. By the time the four had walked outside, Lexaeus and Marluxia were fist-fighting onside the arena, with Vexen, Luxord, and Demyx watching. Demyx turned around to face them and smiled.

"Hey guys!" he called, as they walked up to him. He smiled at Xed.

"Hey Xed, I want you to meet some of the guys! This is Luxord." Demyx said as Luxord walked forward, extending his hand. Xed took it and they shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you." She said. Luxord nodded, smiling.

"Likewise." Then, Vexen stepped forward.

"This is Vexen," Demyx said. Vexen and Xed shook hands, both smiling.

"And the two in the arena are Lexaeus and Marluxia." He said. The two stopped their fighting and walked up to the fence.

"Nice to meet ya." Marluxia said. Lexaeus nodded in agreement. Xed smiled.

"It's Xedramon, right?" Lexaeus asked.

"Xed." She said. He nodded. Axel put his hands on his hips.

"Are you two done? Roxas and I are going to fight." He said. Marluxia shrugged.

"Sure, it's all yours." The two of them walked out of the gate and over towards the group.

"Hey people!" A voice that belonged to Xaldin called. Everyone turned around to see Xaldin, Larxene, Saix, and Zexion walking towards the group of Nobodies (and Xed).

"Hey guys." Roxas called back. He turned to Xed.

"Xed, this is Xaldin, Saix, Larxene, and Zexion." He said, pointing to each one as he said their names. "Guys, this is Xed." Larxene walked up to her and circled her.

"So this is the weapons expert?" she said. She laughed bitterly. "How old are you kid?"

"14, soon to be 15." Xed replied, narrowing her eyes. She could tell already that she didn't like Larxene. Larxene laughed again, and walked away to talk to Lexaeus.

"Don't mind her." Zexion said, sensing her anger. Xed looked up at him. He smiled. "She's a jerk to everyone." Xed smiled.

"Ok Roxas, are we going to get on with our fight?" Axel said. Roxas nodded.

"Ok, let's go!" he said.

Axel and Roxas were in their fighting stances. Everyone else, including Xed, was outside of the gate, watching.

"Ready to fight in 3…" Lexaeus called out.

"Good luck." Axel said.

"…2…"

"You too." Roxas said.

"…1…"

"Good luck guys!" Xed called out. Roxas smiled.

"…GO!!!"

Both Axel and Roxas started to circle each other, their fists held up. Since Axel didn't have a weapon at the moment, they decided to not use weapons. All of the Nobodies watching were cheering for either Roxas of Axel.

"I bet 400 munny that Axel wins!" Luxord yelled.

"I bet 500 that Roxas wins!" Demyx yelled back.

"300 on Roxas!" Xigbar said.

"450 on Axel!" Marluxia said. Xed rolled her eyes and smiled. She was cheering for both of them.

Axel lunged at Roxas with a punch, but Roxas dodged. Then, Roxas returned with a punch of his own, hitting Axel in his shoulder. Axel turned and punched Roxas in his arm. They continued like this for a while. Although it wasn't as exciting as watching fighting with weapons, it was still exciting, and everyone cheered loudly.

"Those two can fight quite well."

Xed looked up to see Xemnas standing next to her.

"Yeah, they're pretty good." She said. He nodded. She wished he'd go away. She didn't feel comfortable around him.

The crowd of Nobodies cheered loudly as Roxas pinned Axel to the ground, raising his fist and striking him repeatedly in his shoulder. Axel held up his hands.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" he shouted, pushing Roxas off of him, rubbing his now sore shoulder. Roxas stood up and smiled as the Nobodies who were rooting for him cheered loudly. Roxas smiled wider. Axel stood up.

"Good fight." Roxas said. Axel nodded, smiling.

"Yeah, I'll get you next time, though. Got it memorized?" he said. Roxas nodded. He then turned toward the group of Nobodies.

"Who's next?" he shouted excitedly, still wanting to fight. Everyone looked around uneasily. Usually, with their weapons, they could easily take on Roxas. But without them, they didn't really stand too much of a chance. The kid was FAST… Roxas smiled.

"Oh come on!" he shouted. "There has to be someone out there who wants to challenge me!"

Silence.

"I'll fight you."

Everyone looked at Xed, who had spoken. Everyone was shocked.

"You're serious? You want to fight Roxas?" Demyx asked, stunned. Xed nodded.

"Sure, why not?" she said, smiling. Roxas nodded.

"Okay then." Xed held up her hand.

"But, weapons are allowed." She said. Roxas thought for a moment.

"Fair enough." He said. She then walked into the arena, and the gate was shut after her. Saix leaned in closer to Xemnas.

"This is going to be interesting." He said. Xemnas nodded slowly, crossing his arms.

"Indeed." He said quietly. "Indeed…"

Roxas and Xed were standing in the arena. Roxas summoned his Oathkeeper and Oblivion Keyblades. Xed just stood there with her arms crossed. Roxas cocked his head.

"Aren't you going to get your weapon?" he asked, Xed shook her head.

"I don't need it right now." She said.

"You sure?"

"Yep."

Outside of the fence, everyone was surprised.

"How long do you think she'll last without a weapon against Roxas?" Zexion asked Xigbar. Xigbar shook his head.

"I'm not sure."

"Roxas is fast with those Keyblades…" Vexen said.

"I give her one minute." Saix said.

"I give her one second." Larxene said.

Lexaeus started the count.

"Get ready to fight in 3…"

"Good luck, Roxas." Xed said, smiling.

"…2…"

"Uh…you too, Xed." Roxas replied. Why is she wishing me luck? She's the one without a weapon!

"…1…"

Xed smiled deviously.

"…GO!!!"

The crowd of Nobodies were cheering loudly. Roxas charged at her with his weapons. He swung his Oathkeeper at her head, but she quickly ducked, and moved to the side. Roxas swung it again at her. She ducked and stepped back. He swung again. She ducked and moved back. This time he swung the Oblivion at her feet. She jumped and landed without losing her balance. Roxas gritted his teeth. Man, she is FAST… Roxas continued to swing at her with his Keyblades, but she dodged every single attack.

"Wow, she's fast!" Axel said, surprised.

"I'm impressed." Xaldin said.

Roxas was growing tired of this. He couldn't hit her. He took a breath and kept hitting at her. She dodged again and again.

"Stay STILL!!!" he shouted, still hitting at her. Xed smiled.

"Make me!" she shouted. He then flung both of his Keyblades at Xed. Xed quickly did a one-handed back flip and avoided the weapons. She landed, kneeling on the ground, perfectly on-balance. Roxas saw his chance. While she was down, he charged at her, Oblivion in his hand. He ran in front of her and brought it crashing down on her head—

CLASH!!!!!

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the arena. There was a flash of white light, and everyone grew quiet, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, gasps were heard.

"What the…?" Marluxia said, completely stunned.

"Holy smoof!" Demyx shouted.

"Impossible…" Xemnas muttered. She can't…he thought…she couldn't…

But she did…

Roxas was confused. His weapon should've hit her, but instead was blocked by something else. Roxas looked down at Xed. He gasped.

In her hand,

Blocking his attack,

Was a Keyblade.

Wait, a Keyblade?

SHE HAD A KEYBLADE????? 

Xed, with one hand on the handle and one hand on the length of the blade, pushed against Roxas' Keyblade, forcing him to stumble back. He stood there, mouth agape, completely and utterly shocked. Xed smiled in satisfaction, spinning the Keyblade around her fingers.

"What's the matter?" she teased. "Surely a Keyblade master like yourself can handle one Keyblade, right?" Roxas shook himself out of his surprise.

"One Keyblade?" he said, rolling his eyes. "Come on, that's too easy." He said, letting his own two Keyblades rest at his sides in his hands. Xed nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right, Roxas." She said, smiling. "One Keyblade isn't a challenge for you." Roxas nodded. She smiled again.

It was sweet, but sly.

"So, you can handle one Keyblade, huh?" she said, holding her own Keyblade out in front of her. Suddenly, it began to glow a brilliant white color. She tossed it in the air. Once in the air, it split into 14 white balls of light. All of the light came down on her, but she acted quickly.

She reached up and grabbed two of the lights that formed into Keyblades at her touch. She crossed them behind her back and they stayed there. She reached up and grabbed two more lights, and twisted her wrists. Now, two Keyblades hung from chains on her wrists. She reached up again and grabbed four lights, two in each hand, and brushed her hands against her hips. Four Keyblades, two on each side of her, appeared on chains connecting to her belts. She then finally reached up and grabbed the remaining six lights, three in each hand, and held them tight. She was now holding three Keyblades in each hand.

(And she had done all of this in 7 ½ seconds)

Everyone was stunned.

Roxas' eyes grew wide in amazement and surprise.

Xed smiled deviously.

"But let's see you handle 14!!!"


	6. THE FIGHT IS ON!

Everyone was shocked beyond belief.

"14 KEYBLADES?????" Axel yelled.

"Pfft, she can't fight with all of those!" Larxene said. "There's no way!"

"W.O.W." Xigbar said.

The rest of the members just had their mouths open in surprise. Xemnas crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow.

Roxas was equally surprised. He just stared at her. Her and the 14 identical Keyblades that she held so easily.

"Earth to Roxas, you ready to continue our fight?" Xed said, pleased by his reaction. Roxas blinked twice, knocking himself out of his trance.

"Yeah!" he said, raising his own two Keyblades. He knew this would be tough, but he could handle this. Xed nodded, raising the six in her hands. Roxas charged at her. As he did, she didn't move. When he came close enough, all of the Keyblades except for the six in her hands disappeared. She flung one Keyblade from each hand at Roxas. He dodged both easily, and went to strike her. She used one from her left hand to block his attack, and lashed out attacks with the three others. Roxas desperately blocked attacks from her three Keyblades. Then, the two that she had flung out from before had boomeranged back and were now attacking Roxas, as if they had minds of their own. Roxas was constantly turning around, and then turning back to her, trying to block each attack. He was getting tired, not to mention very dizzy…

Suddenly, four of the Keyblades disappeared, leaving Xed with only two. Roxas rolled his eyes, smiling.

He could handle two.

She charged in, and Roxas dodged. The sounds of metal clashing echoed again and again, as they spun around and blocked and attacked.

"You know Roxas," Xed said, blocking one of his attacks, "You're pretty good!" She went to strike him, but he put up his Oathkeeper to block.

"You're not too bad yourself!" he said, pushing on his Oathkeeper and forcing her back.

Then, Xed summoned eight more Keyblades, so she had a total of ten Keyblades to fight with. She threw six of them out like boomerangs, and continued to attack Roxas with the four in her hands. Roxas sighed in annoyance.

There was no doubt that she was very good at this.

She charged at him, and the two exchanged wild attacks. All the time, the six Keyblades Xed threw out boomeranged back and attacked Roxas from the back and the sides. So basically, he was forced to block attacks from 10 Keyblades. He couldn't even try to attack her.

The fight went on for a while. She swapped out the Keyblades she used often, sometimes fighting with nine, other times she'd fight with five, and sometimes she'd take on Roxas with only one. All of the Organization members watched the fight soundlessly, both amazed and shocked. Xemnas stood there, expressionless, observing Xed.

Both Keybladers were growing tired, but neither would give in. Xed decided to call off all of her Keyblades except for one in each hand. Roxas smiled deviously.

He had a plan.

He charged at her, Oblivion raised high. Xed immediately jumped to the side, but this time Roxas jumped to the side with her, and swung at her. She jumped back, but Roxas ran at her again and swung. She found herself jumping back, trying to dodge his wild attacks. She gritted her teeth. She knew what he was trying to do: knock her off balance. She smiled deviously.

She had a plan.

Roxas swung again, but this time Xed almost fell over. She looked up to see Roxas coming at her. Right before he struck at her, she flung one of her Keyblades out in the air. Roxas then brought Oblivion down on her, but she held up her Keyblade lengthwise, so his Keyblade hit it instead of her. Roxas smiled as he quickly brought up his Oathkeeper.

She had done exactly what he was hoping she'd do.

He brought the Oathkeeper down on her Keyblade, and then brought the Oblivion down. He alternated Keyblades, banging on her Keyblade, over and over again, in his signature move. The force of his weapons on hers caused Xed to bend her knees in order to stay up. Roxas knew his plan was working. All he had to do was keep this up, and the victory would be his. Xed looked up at him, banging away wildly. He was in deep concentration, trying to make her fall. She looked up to see the Keyblade she had thrown out coming back towards her. She smiled, seeing that Roxas didn't notice it.

He had done exactly what she was hoping he'd do.

The Keyblade whizzed past his head. She twisted her ankle out, spinning away from Roxas' Keyblades and grabbing the weapon that flew past his head. Roxas hadn't expected this, and he fell forward. She then kicked his Oathkeeper out of his hand, sending it clattering to the floor. She then turned around and brought on of her Keyblades down on Roxas, but Roxas held up his Oblivion to block the attack. She brought down the other Keyblade on Roxas, but he kept his weapon up to block her attack. She alternated Keyblades, banging on his Oblivion. Roxas' eyes widened.

She was using his signature move on him!

"Stop…stealing…my…move!" Roxas shouted over the shower of blows she was inflicting on his weapon. She smiled, still banging away.

"I'm not stealing it! I'm borrowing it!" Xed shouted, smiling. He kept his weapon up, desperately blocking her attacks. He hadn't figured on something like this happening.

Suddenly, Xed took the Keyblade in her right hand, and swung it out at Roxas' left leg. It snagged behind his ankle, and she pulled it back towards herself. Roxas tripped and fell backwards onto the ground, dropping his Oblivion.

Once on the ground, he looked up at Xed, who was standing over him. She swung at Keyblade at him, stopping a few inches from his face. She held it there, while the Keyblade in her other hand rested at her side. Roxas gritted his teeth.

There was no way he could win.

She won.

Roxas sighed.

Xed smiled.

She had won.

There was no way he could fight back.

Roxas threw up his arms.

"I give up! Xed wins!"


	7. A Devoted Heart

There was nothing but silence in the outside battle area. Xed dismissed her two remaining Keyblades and bent down towards Roxas, extending a hand to help him up. Roxas took the hand and let her help him up.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Roxas and Xed looked over at Xemnas, who was clapping slowly, with an impressed smile set on his face. Demyx nodded and started clapping wildly.

"WAY TO GO XED AND ROXAS!" he yelled. Axel clapped as well.

"That was AWESOME!" He shouted. Soon, everyone was clapping and cheering and whooping loudly for the two Keybladers. Xed and Roxas smiled and started laughing softly, panting hard for breath. They had been fighting so hard; they hadn't even realized they had grown exhausted.

"Roxas?" Xed said softly.

"Yea?" he replied.

"You can let go of my hand now."

Roxas looked down to see that his hand was still holding hers. He pulled his hand away quickly and looked in the opposite direction, blushing slightly. Out of the corner of his eye he could've promised that she was blushing too. The two of them walked out of the gate and joined the others, where they received pats on their backs and praise.

"That was amazing!"

"How'd you do that, Xed?"

"You guys both fought really well!!"

"Roxas, that was really awesome how you blocked all of those attacks!"

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"That was seriously one of the best fights I've ever seen!"

"Hate to say it, but you two were really good!"

Xed and Roxas could only smile at their compliments. Xed turned towards Roxas.

"Roxas, you're a really amazing fighter!" she said. Roxas felt himself blush slightly. He scratched the back of his head, smiling.

"What are you talking about? You were the amazing one!" he said. Xed rolled her eyes and smiled.

"I've faced a lot of people, but you are pretty much the only one who's put up a good fight." She smiled again. "You actually were a challenge." Roxas smiled.

"But how'd you learn to fight with 14 Keyblades? And when did you get a Keyblade?" Xed shrugged.

"I don't remember when I got it, but come on, Roxas." She said, shaking her head. "I create weapons, and I've got to fight with them to see if they serve their purpose. I get a lot of practice." Roxas nodded.

"You design Keyblades too?" Xed nodded, smiling widely.

"Sure do!" she said.

"Can I see?" Roxas asked.

"Sure!" She said, blushing slightly. Once again, she had sounded much more excited than she wanted to. The two of them started walking towards the castle, Axel and Demyx following them. Everyone went off to do their own thing. Saix walked up to Xemnas.

"That was rather impressive." Saix said. Xemnas crossed his arms.

"Very." He said. He had a look on his face, as if he were deep in thought. Saix noticed this.

"I know that look." He said. "What're you thinking about?" Xemnas smiled slowly, slyly.

"Nothing worth mentioning." He said. "Yet…"

Back in the Weapons Workshop, Xed had pulled out a large sketchpad and handed it to Roxas, who held it up so that Demyx and Axel could see it. He started to flip through it. While they were looking, Xed was working on what was to be Vexen's new shield.

"Xed, these are awesome!" Roxas said. Demyx nodded, smiling.

"Really cool!" Axel nodded as well.

"Sweet!" Xed smiled. Roxas looked up at her.

"Have you made all of these?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Not yet; I've made most of them." She walked away from the shield and walked over to a nearby shelf. She pulled out a medium sized dark blue colored box. She walked back over to the guys.

"These are the ones I've made." She said, opening the box. Axel, Demyx, and Roxas' eyes widened as they looked inside. Inside the box was roughly a hundred Keychains, of all different sizes, colors, and designs.

"Woah…" Roxas said. "Can I hold one?" Xed nodded, and set the box on the desk. Roxas pulled out a long, gray chain with a Silver Star charm at the end. Xed looked over at him.

"I call that one Shattered Star." She said, returning to her work on the shield. "Attach it to your Keyblade." Roxas summoned his Oathkeeper Keyblade and hooked the Keychain to the end. His weapon immediately changed to a shiny silver color, with a cluster of silver stars as the blade. Axel whistled.

"Wow." He said. Xed smiled, not looking up from her work. Roxas unhooked the Keychain, and his weapon turned back into its regular state.

"What's this?" Demyx asked. Everyone looked at him. He was still looking at the sketchpad of Keyblades. His eyes were skimming a page entitled 'Organization Keys'. Xed walked over to him and looked at the page. She smiled and blushed, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh, those are some Keyblades I designed after you guys. I based them off your weapons and elements." She said sheepishly. Immediately, Axel and Roxas rushed over to look for which Keyblade represented them.

"Oh sweet!" Axel said. "Mine's called Flaming Furry! That's awesome, got it memorized?" Xed smiled.

"Cool! I like mine!" Demyx said. "Dance of Defeat. I liked it!" Xed shrugged.

"I like it too, but it's designed so you play it like a guitar. And I can't play the guitar." She said, looking at the ground. Demyx put an arm around her shoulder.

"Hey, I can teach you!" he said. She looked up at him.

"Really?" Demyx nodded.

"Yeah! It'll be fun!" he said. She smiled.

"Okay!"

"Hey Xed?" Roxas said.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Where's my Keyblade?" Roxas has still been looking at the page, looking it over and over, but still hadn't found his yet. Xed blushed again, this time a little more noticeable.

"Well…your Keyblade is…special…" She said, sounding embarrassed. "Yours is different than everyone else's." Roxas cocked his head.

"Why?" he asked. Xed shrugged.

"I don't know, when I was designing these, I just felt that yours should be…special." She said. Roxas blushed. He had no idea why. Xed then went back over to the shelf where she had pulled out the other Keychains, and pulled out a small glass case. She walked back over to them.

"These," she said, placing the case on her desk, "Are my most special, and most dangerous Keychains." Axel, Demyx, and Roxas nodded. She looked up at them. "If these fall into the wrong hands, there'd be trouble. So no telling anyone about these, okay?" The three of them nodded again. She smiled. She opened the case, revealing about ten Keychains. Roxas looked at them. One of them had a Heartless emblem on it.

"What's that one?" he asked, pointing to it. Xed picked it up.

"This one is one of my most dangerous Keyblades. It is a perfect replica of the Keyblade that can release Hearts." She said, almost a whisper. "One stab with this, and you're on your way to darkness, no doubt about it." She said. Roxas shuddered slightly. That Keyblade…the one she was talking about…he'd seen it before in a dream… Xed then picked up another Keychain and handed it to Roxas.

"This one is your Keyblade: Devoted Hearts." She said, smiling. Roxas looked at it. The chain on it was a mix of dark purple and bright gold. At the end was a Heart, half purple, half gold.

"You can put it on." She said. Roxas nodded, and placed it on his Oathkeeper. There was a flash of white, and when it cleared, Axel, Roxas, and Demyx gasped in unison.

His Keyblade was now a silver color. On one side of the blade were dark purple wires, swirling into heart shapes. One the opposite side was the same thing, except with gold wires. The blade itself was a swirled silver heart, with gold and purple intertwined in it.

It was stunning.

"This is…amazing…" Roxas said breathlessly, holding the Keyblade out at arm's length to examine it.

"Why's it so special?" Axel asked. Xed looked up at him.

"I designed it to be twilight." Everyone cocked their heads in puzzlement.

"Twilight?" Demyx asked. Xed nodded.

"You see, twilight is a perfect balance of dark and light. It's connected so closely that there is no void, but is set apart so that they never mix. The perfect balance." She said, smiling. Axel nodded.

"You know Roxas," Xed said, walking up to him, "you can keep that…" Roxas' eyes widened.

"Really?" he asked excited. Xed nodded.

"Yep. For 89,000 munny." She said with a smile. Axel, Roxas, and Demyx turned towards her; their mouths open in surprise.

"89,000???" Axel said. Xed laughed.

"Yeah, I make money off of selling my weapons." She said. "That, and charging money for fixing them."

"How come you didn't charge us?" Roxas asked, unhooking the Keychain from his weapon, still holding it in his hand. Xed shrugged.

"I'm not sure…I guess I didn't want to. It's not often I don't charge money. But you guys just seemed…" she shook her head, at a loss for words. "I'm not sure."

"Well, we should get going, so that you can finish your work." Demyx said. Xed nodded.

"See you later!" Axel said, walking out of the room, Demyx following him. Roxas handed the Keychain back to her. He was sort of sad to have to part with such a magnificent weapon.

"Hey," Xed said softly, sensing his disappointment. Roxas looked up into her soft, faded gray eyes, and at her warm, smiling face. Roxas smiled back.

"You know, one day," she said. "You might get that Keychain from me." Roxas shook his head, smiling, as he walked out of the room. He stopped in the doorway and turned to face Xed.

"And when will that be?" he asked. Xed chuckled softly.

"When you have a Devoted Heart…" she said. He smiled and closed the door behind him.

But, he thought,

I already have one.


	8. Ask her out?

"You should ask Xed out."

Roxas almost choked on the cereal he was eating for breakfast the next morning. He looked at Demyx with wild eyes, still trying to breathe.

"Excuse me?" he said. Demyx smiled.

"You heard me." He said. Roxas shook his head.

"I-I-I can't!" he stuttered. Demyx rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on, Roxas! It's obvious you like her, so why shouldn't you ask her out? It's a nice Thursday-day, and it'd be a perfect day for you two to hang out together." He said. Roxas shook his head.

"I don't know…" Axel walked up to him.

"How about this: Demyx and I will go with you, unnoticed. Then, we can help you without being seen." He proposed. Roxas cocked his head.

"Okay…" he said slowly. He smiled slightly, but it quickly vanished. "But I've never asked a girl out! What do I say?" Demyx and Axel thought for a moment.

"I can help you there."

The three of them looked up to see Marluxia walking into the kitchen. Axel started laughing.

"You've asked girls out before?" he said. Marluxia crossed his arms.

"Of course I have." He said. Axel cracked a grin.

"How many?"

"One." Axel snorted.

"Only one?" Marluxia smiled slyly.

"Well, that's more than you can say for yourself, isn't it Axel?" he said. Axel crossed his arms and smirked angrily. Demyx and Roxas chuckled.

"So, how do I ask Xed out?" Roxas asked. Marluxia raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Xed? You want to ask her out?" he said. Roxas nodded shyly. Marluxia smiled.

"Well, all you have to do is say it simply: Xed, would you like to go out with me?" Roxas cocked his head.

"That's it?" Marluxia nodded.

"That's it." Roxas stood up.

"Okay then, I'll go ask her…"

Roxas stood outside of the Weapons Workshop door. He turned around to see Axel and Demyx standing behind him, smiling in approval. Roxas turned back towards the door and took a breath.

He knocked twice.

He heard the doorknob turn, and then the door opened a little. Xed looked through the crack, and then opened it all the way, seeing it was Roxas. She smiled.

"Hi, Roxas." She said. Roxas could feel himself freeze up with fear.

How was he supposed to ask her out?

She was so…

And he was so… 

Xed raised an eyebrow.

"Roxas?" she said, waving her hand in front of his face. Roxas blinked and looked back at her. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Sensing his nervousness, Axel walked up to Roxas and put his hands on his shoulders.

"Xed, Roxas has something he wants to ask you." He said, encouraging Roxas. Roxas nodded. He opened his mouth to speak again.

"Xed…do you…want to…go…out…with…me…?" He asked, his words soft and growing softer. Xed seemed surprised.

"Really?" she said. Roxas looked at the ground and nodded dumbly. She smiled.

"Sure." Roxas looked up at her. Had she just said yes?

"Sure?" he asked, hoping he had heard what he thought he had heard. She nodded.

"When will we go?" she asked.

"Around…5:00…?" he said, still in partial shock. She nodded again, smiling.

"Okay, I'll meet you out in the living room then." She said, before closing the door of the Workshop.

"YES!!!!" Roxas shouted, excited. Axel pat him on the back.

"Ya see, was that so scary?" he said. Roxas looked up at him.

"Yes! That was terrifying!" he said. Demyx walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well, you did fine." He said, smiling. Then, the three of them walked towards the stairs. Roxas stopped suddenly and turned around towards the Workshop door.

"What's wrong?" Demyx asked. Roxas shook his head.

"Nothing." He said. Demyx shrugged and he and Axel continued walking. Roxas lingered a moment before catching up to the two Nobodies.

He could've promised he had heard an excited 'yes' coming from the other side of the door…

5:00.

Roxas waited in the living room for Xed. Apparently, word had spread about their little 'date' and now everyone was in the living room (except for Xemnas and Saix), waiting to see them leave. Roxas rolled his eyes, annoyed.

"Did you all have to come?" he said.

"Yup." Larxene said, looking up from her Death Note manga in her lap. Roxas sighed in annoyance. He turned to Demyx and Axel.

"So are you guys gonna come?" he asked, almost pleading. Axel nodded.

"Chill, Roxas. We're going to follow you after you two leave." He said. Roxas nodded.

"You know, Roxas," Lexaeus said, from his seat on the sofa, "you should say something nice to Xed when she comes out." Roxas cocked his head.

"What should I say?" he asked.

"How about this!" Xigbar said, jumping up from his seat next to Zexion. He cleared his throat.

"Girl, I know your feet must be tired, 'cause you've been running through my mind all day!" he said. Everyone gave him a strange look.

"How about," Luxord said, "You look nice today?" Xaldin shook his head.

"No, that's not good enough. How about: Your eyes are really pretty?" he said. Axel waved his arm frantically.

"I know! I know!" he said. "First, set the area around you guys with fire. Then, when she says 'Roxas! Look at all this fire!', you say 'The only fire in my eyes here is you.'" He said. Larxene rolled her eyes.

"He's trying to compliment the girl, not kill her." She said, chucking at his stupidity. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Well," Roxas said, "I think I'll just tell Xed—"

"Tell me what?"

Roxas looked up to see Xed walking up from the stairs. Roxas immediately blushed.

"That…you…look nice today." He said, smiling weakly. Xed smiled back, blushing slightly.

"Thanks." She said. Roxas summoned a Corridor of Darkness, and they stepped through.

"Have fun!" Zexion called.

"And be back before curfew!" Vexen called, earning a laugh from the other members. Roxas rolled his eyes in embarrassment as the portal closed.

The two arrived in Twilight Town. Xed looked around her.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"Twilight Town, my old home." Roxas replied. Xed smiled.

"It's nice." She said. The two began walking down a path when Roxas felt a light tap on his shoulder, and resisted the urge to jump around. Instead, he calmly looked behind him to see Axel and Demyx following close behind, soundlessly. Roxas smiled and turned back around.

He could always count on them.

Roxas bought the two of them Sea-Salt ice cream, and they ate walking down a path by the Sandlot.

"Roxas!" Someone whispered.

Roxas turned around to see where the whisper had come from. It was Axel. He clasped his hands together and mouthed 'Hold her hand'. Roxas nodded, understanding what he was saying. He switched his ice cream to his opposite hand, and slowly and shyly took Xed's hand in his own. She looked over at Roxas. Roxas smiled shyly. She smiled shyly back, blushing slightly. Xed then laced her fingers with his. Roxas smiled. Axel and Demyx smiled.

This was going well.

A little later, Roxas brought Xed up on the Station Tower to watch the sunset with him. They got a chance to talk about everything. About their friends, their interests, their favorites (color, animal, etc.), and anything else they could think of. Xed smiled.

"Wow, you can see everything up here." She said. Roxas nodded.

"Yeah…" he smiled.

"Psst!"

Roxas turned his head to look behind him. Axel and Demyx were there. Demyx was mouthing 'put your arm around her shoulder', but Roxas couldn't tell what he was saying. In fact, Axel couldn't even tell what Demyx was saying. Roxas shot him a confused look. Demyx thought a moment, and then got an idea. He then put his arm around Axel's shoulder and pointed at him. Roxas nodded, understanding what he was telling him. Unfortunately, Axel didn't know what he was doing. He pushed Demyx's arm off of his shoulder, and pushed Demyx, mouthing 'what the smoof do you think you're doing?'. Demyx tried to explain, but Axel pushed him again. Demyx pushed back. Soon, the two were pushing and hitting each other silently. Roxas chucked silently. He looked back at Xed, who was still staring out at the sky. He stretched his arm out, pretending to yawn, and put him arm around her shoulder. Xed chuckled.

"Pretty old trick." She said, looking at Roxas, smiling. He smiled back nervously. She leaned against his him and put her head on his shoulder. Roxas smiled.

"Pretty old trick yourself." He said slyly. She smiled.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Roxas smiled wider. The two sat there in silence, watching the sun sink into the sky, while Axel and Demyx silently fought each other behind them.

The two arrived back at the Caste around 7:00 p.m. Axel and Demyx had gone ahead of them, and were waiting inside so Xed wouldn't seen them. They walked up to the door, still holding hands.

"Today was fun." Xed said, smiling, looking up at Roxas. Even in the darkness of the sky, he could still see her warm gray eyes and her warm smile.

He could feel himself blush, just by looking at her.

"Yeah." He said, looking away to hide his red face, incase she could see. Xed looked away too.

"Xed?" he said softly.

"Mmhmm?"

"Maybe…we could…you know…go out again sometime?" Xed smiled.

"Sure!" Roxas smiled back. They arrived at the door.

"But Roxas?" she said. He looked at her.

"Yeah?"

"Next time, tell Axel and Demyx to stay here."

The two laughed, and went inside the Castle.


	9. SURPRISE!

After walking in, Xed walked off downstairs to continue her work on the weapons. Axel and Demyx appeared through a Corridor of Darkness soon after. Axel walked up to Roxas, smiling.

"So, you two have fun?" he asked. Roxas nodded.

"Yeah." He said, smiling. Demyx smiled.

"Does she like you?" he asked. Roxas shrugged.

"I don't know…" he said.

But I hope she does… Roxas thought. He smiled.

"Is tomorrow Friday?" he asked. Axel thought a moment.

"Uhhh…yeah, I think so. Why?" he asked. Roxas smiled deviously.

"I have an idea for tomorrow." He replied. The three Nobodies formed a circle, and Roxas filled them in on his idea…

That night, Roxas had let everyone else in the Castle (except for Xemnas and Saix, who refused to have a part in it) in on the plan. He even convinced Larxene to help as well (and that was something).

Everything was coming together…

Roxas lightly tapped on the Weapons Workshop door. It was morning, 11:09 a.m., and he wanted to ask Xed something. After getting no answer, he knocked again.

Nothing.

Roxas opened the door slowly and looked inside.

Xed was sitting at her desk, her arms crossed on the desk and her head resting on her arms. Roxas walked in.

"Xed?" he said softly. She didn't move. He walked closer to her.

"Xed?" he said again, louder this time. He was about to yell her name when he realized that her shoulders were moving up and down in a steady rhythm. He could hear her soft, even breathing. Roxas chuckled softly.

She was sleeping.

Roxas couldn't help but look at her.

She was…really pretty…

He liked how part of her hair was in her face. How her eyes were closed softly. How she slept with a small smile on her face.

Roxas smiled, and felt something he hadn't really felt before.

Was it…?

Roxas shook himself out of his thoughts.

Naw… he thought. That's impossible for a Nobody!

He walked up to Xed and shook her shoulder gently.

"Xed?" he said softly. "Xed, wake up!" Xed opened her eyes slowly, and looked up at Roxas. She smiled and sat up with her elbows on her desk.

"Oh, good morning, Roxas." She said sleepily, but sweetly. Roxas smiled again.

"Um, I'm not sure. I still have part of Lexaeus' weapon to finish, and I still have—"

"Please?" Roxas pleaded. Xed looked up at him. Roxas made a pathetic puppy-dog face. She laughed at him.

"Fine." She said, standing up. Roxas smiled.

"Great!" he said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her gently out of the room. Xed followed without a choice.

Demyx waiting for him down the hall.

Where's Roxas? He thought. Just then, Roxas came walking out of the room with Xed at a quick pace. Roxas smiled at him and winked. Demyx nodded.

"So where are you two going?" he asked.

"I'm not sure." Xed said, trying to keep up with Roxas. "Roxas said he wanted to spend the day with me, so I am." Demyx nodded.

"Have fun!" he said. Roxas looked at him.

'Get everything ready', he mouthed. Demyx smiled.

'I will.' He mouthed back, before running off. Roxas instantly opened a portal, and Xed stepped in after him. Roxas smiled.

Everything was going perfectly…

Roxas and Xed went to Twilight Town again. They sat on the Station Tower, eating Sea-Salt ice cream that Xed paid for this time (she insisted). Roxas nibbled on his ice cream, trying to find something to say.

"So…" he said. Xed looked over at him. "Who's your favorite music singer or band?" Roxas kicked himself again in his mind.

ANOTHER stupid question…

Xed chuckled softly.

"Well, I happen to like Jessie McCartney." She said, licking her ice cream. Roxas cocked his head.

"Why?" he asked. He knew who he was, and wondered why she liked him. He wasn't so great. Xed thought for a moment.

"I don't really like his singing, but I love the way his voice sounds. It's so nice." She said. Roxas frowned to himself.

His voice was a thousand times better than Jessie McCartney's.

He was sure of that.

Sometime later, around 8:00 p.m., Roxas took Xed back to the Castle. They spent the day at Twilight Town, Hollow Bastion, and Traverse Town. Both were tired, but they enjoyed each other's company. They had talked a lot, about their wants, their fears, and everything else. Roxas found himself glancing over at Xed from time to time. And sometimes, he'd have the feeling like he was being watched.

They started walking up to the door. Xed turned towards Roxas.

"Today was reall— "

But before she could finish, Roxas dashed off towards the door to the Castle.

"Roxas!" Xed called, confused. But Roxas opened the door and ran in, leaving it wide open. Xed cocked her head and ran after him into the Castle.

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. All of the lights were turned out and, quite frankly, the Castle was sort of creepy. Xed looked around.

"Roxas?" she called into the darkness. She heard feet shuffling in the kitchen. Xed chuckled softly, nervously.

"Roxas, if you're trying to scare me, I'm gonna kill you." She said, walking into the kitchen. As she walked closer to the room, she could see a few small, bright lights.

…Were they candles?

As soon as she walked into the room, something clicked behind her and the lights came on.

"SURPRISE!!!"

Xed was shocked and surprised, stumbling back a little. She looked to see all of the Organization members (except for Saix and Xemnas) standing in front of the kitchen table. Xaldin, in the middle of them all, was holing a small sized light-blue frosted cake, with 15 brightly burning candles sticking on the top. Xed felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Roxas behind her, smiling wide.

"Happy birthday, Xed."

Xed was shocked. She had never been used to celebrating her birthday, so she had forgotten it was today. She turned back around to everyone standing in front of the table. Everyone was smiling (except for Larxene, but, what do you expect?).

"Happy birthday to you…" Xigbar started to sing.

"Happy birthday to you…" Everyone sang.

"Happy birthday dear Xed…"

Xed smiled, slightly embarrassed, but mostly touched.

"Happy birthday to you!!!"

Roxas smiled at Xed, his had still on her shoulder.

"Well, you gonna blow out your candles?" he asked. Xed stepped forward, still smiling, up to the cake. She leaned over it and blew gently, extinguishing the fire of the candles. Everyone clapped happily.

"Presents!!!" Marluxia shouted. A box was passed through the crowd of Nobodies and placed in Xed's hands. It was of medium sized, messily wrapped in black and white wrapping paper, a white bow placed far from the center.

"I wrapped it myself!" Demyx said proudly, smiling.

"We can tell…" Luxord said, rolling his eyes. Everyone laughed, and Demyx smirked angrily. Xed smiled.

"Are you going to open it?" Vexen said, smiling. Xed then started to tear the paper off of the box. She placed it on the table, and lifted the lid.

She gasped softly.

It was an Organization coat.

She pulled it out by the collar and held it out at arm's length to examine it. She smiled.

"Wow…" she breathed. Zexion smiled.

"We thought you might like it." He said. Xed was speechless.

"After all…" Lexaeus said.

"Ever since you've been here, you seem like part of the Organization…" Axel finished quietly. Xed smiled shyly.

That was…the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.

"Thank you." She said. Xaldin rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Don't thank, thank Roxas." He said.

"Yeah, he thought of the whole thing." Luxord said. Xed turned to look at Roxas, who was blushing insanely.

"Yeah…well…I…I…just thought…it'd…make you…happy…and…I—" Roxas' stuttering was stopped by a sudden hug from Xed. He looked at her. She smiled.

"Thank you, Roxas." She said. Roxas, still surprised, placed his arms around her to embrace her hug. He smiled foolishly.

An annoyed cough from Larxene forced them to pull away from each other and blush.

"Okay, everyone's happy, can we eat the cake now?" Larxene said. Axel nodded in agreement.

"Yea!" he said, as Xaldin brought out a knife to start cutting the cake. All of the Nobodies gathered around to get some cake, except for Roxas.

He had to still give her his present:

Him telling her how he felt about her.

Roxas grabbed Xed's hand. She looked up at him.

"Can I talk to you alone for a minute?" he asked. She nodded, and he pulled her out of the kitchen unnoticed, and brought her downstairs towards the Workshop, where no one would hear him.

They stood at the beginning of the hallway. Roxas looked at Xed. Just seeing her smiling at him made him blush.

"What is it, Roxas?" Xed asked. Roxas blushed more.

He loved the way she said his name.

Luckily it was dark downstairs, so she couldn't see him blushing. He took a breath.

"Xed, I wanted to tell you that I—"

CRASH!!!

Both of them looked up towards the Workshop, where the sound had come from.

"What was that?" Roxas asked. But Xed didn't answer. She immediately ran down the hall and ran into the room. Roxas ran after her.

The two examined the room. Nothing seemed to be wrong.

"You know," Roxas started, "maybe we were just—" But he was cut off by a gasp from Xed. She walked over to a shattered glass case on the floor.

The case that held her most powerful Keychains.

She began picking up the Keychains off of the floor. Roxas walked over to her.

"Are they all here? Any of them broken?" he asked. Xed shook her head.

"No, they're all fine…" she trailed off. Roxas looked at her.

"Xed, what is it?" he asked, concerned. She looked up at him. Her eyes were wide, and full of terror.

"I'm missing one…" she said, barely a whisper, fear and sadness dripping from her words. Roxas cocked his head.

"Which one?" Xed took a breath.

"The one…that steals peoples hearts…" 


	10. Don't mess with Xed

"When will the plan start?"

"Soon. Very soon."

"But when?"

"When her true power is revealed."

"True power?"

"Yes, she is aware of it. But she can't be afraid to use it… When she uses it, it will be time…"

Roxas and Xed were sitting at the kitchen table. It was the next morning, and everyone (even Xemnas) was in the kitchen eating breakfast (except for Axel and Larxene). Xed's face was in her hands, her elbows on the table.

"How could I let this happen?" she said, her voice muffled by her hands. "That Keyblade is dangerous. And now, it's been stolen!" Roxas wanted to say something to comfort her, but he didn't know what to say. Just then, Axel came walking into the kitchen. He smiled at Xed, oblivious to what had happened.

"Hey, nice coat!" he said, referring to the Organization coat she had decided to wear today. His try at humor went unnoticed; no one laughed, or even smiled. He cocked his head.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Someone stole a weapon from her last night." Marluxia said. Axel seemed surprised and slightly angry.

"Who did it?" he asked.

"If we knew that, Axel, she wouldn't be so upset, now would she?" Xemnas said dully, sipping some coffee from a mug. Axel smirked at him and sat down at the table.

"Don't worry, Xed!" Demyx said cheerfully. Xed looked up at him. He stood up. "We'll find out who did it!" She smiled.

"What was so special about that weapon anyway?" Luxord asked. Xed looked over at him.

"Well, it was a Keychain I designed that can steal hearts." She explained. Roxas looked at her.

"Was it your most powerful Keychain?" he asked. Xed shook her head.

"No, I keep my most powerful Keychain with me at all times." She said. Just then, Larxene came walking into the kitchen. By the expression on her face, she was in an EXTREMLY bad mood, worse than usual. She walked over the Xed was sitting.

"You're in my seat, move it." She demanded. Xed looked up at her.

"I don't see your name on it." She said, jokingly. A couple of the Organization members chuckled. Xed was pretty brave to joke with Larxene when she was in such a bad mood. Larxene gritted her teeth.

"I said MOVE IT." She yelled. Xed smirked again.

"How about a please?" she said teasingly. The other members exchanged worried glances. They could tell that Larxene was about to blow. Larxene clenched one of her fists, and a twisted smile appeared on her face.

"Fine." She said, her words scrapping against her gritted teeth. Roxas looked at Xed in fear.

He knew this wouldn't be good.

"PLEASE MOVE IT!!!!" Larxene yelled furiously, bringing her clenched fist up, and striking Xed hard in the left side of her face. In fact, she had struck her so hard that Xed stumbled out her chair and fell onto the floor, just by the sheer force of it. All of the Organization members were mortified, Roxas especially. Larxene laughed viciously as she watched Xed sit up on the floor, clutching the side of her face.

"Thank you." Larxene said with a sweet venom tone. Roxas jumped up from his seat and ran over to Xed.

"Xed are you ok?" he asked, his hands on her shoulders, helping her sit up. Xed took her hand away to reveal a large, black-blue bruise that had formed under her left eye and down her cheek. Roxas was furious. He turned to Larxene.

"You didn't have to hit her!" he yelled.

"Yeah really, Larxene!" Xigbar said, angry as well. Larxene shrugged and smiled evilly.

"It's not my fault the little wimp can't take a punch." She spat. "She's probably too afraid to." She laughed again. Xed turned her head sharply up at her, completely ignoring the terrible pain in her face.

"What…did…you…say…?" she said through clenched teeth. Roxas could sense her anger. Larxene looked at her, still smiling.

"I said that little Xed is a little 'fraidy cat!" She laughed. "You should learn to face your pathetic little fears." She said teasingly. Xed narrowed her eyes.

That did it.

Xed leapt up off the floor, ripping away from Roxas' grip. She ran up to Larxene and grabbed her shoulders, throwing her up against the wall with so much force that the entire kitchen shook. Larxene tried to struggle away from Xed's grip, but it was no use. Her grip was vice-like. Larxene looked at Xed, who was by now seething with anger.

"LET GO OF ME YOU LITTLE—" she started, but was halted by Xed's uncomfortable stare on her. Xed's pale gray eyes seemed to become an endless, empty vortex of void. As she stared into her eyes, Larxene started to see things…

Deaths, parents, fear, pain, hurt, fear…

What was happening to her? Larxene felt her head spinning with all of her deepest fears…

Betrayal, fear, hurt, fear, her sister, fear…

Larxene started to breathe heavily. She started to shake violently. She tried to break away from Xed's haunting glare, but couldn't.

Fear…Fear…Fear…Fear…Fear…

"STOP!!!" Larxene screamed. She couldn't take it anymore! Xed's eyes let Larxene go. The images disappeared, but Larxene was still shaking, purely terrified. She hadn't known she could still be scared like that. Xed stared at her hard.

"Don't…you…EVER…say I can't face my own fears when you can't even face your own…" she growled, her voice dangerously low. She then let go of Larxene and stomped out of the room.

The entire room was quiet, still in deep shock of what had happened. Roxas would've run after her, but he thought that she might want to be left alone for a little while. Larxene stayed where she was, her back against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. Lexaeus, having some sympathy, walked over to the shaking Nobody.

"Hey, Larxene? Are you ok?" he asked. She didn't respond. Her eyes just stared off, wide and awake with fear. Axel walked up to her as well.

"Hello? Larxene?" he called, waving his hand in front of her face. He cocked his head.

"What'd she do to you?" Larxene looked up at him.

"She…scared me…I didn't even know I could still be scared…" she whispered, still shaking. Everyone was silent, still surprised at what just happened.

And no one had even noticed Xemnas slipping out of the room, a small, sly smile set upon his face.

He had seen what he needed to see…

"Xed! Open up, it's me!" Roxas called, knocking loudly on the Workshop door. Behind him were Axel and Demyx.

"Come in." A soft voice said. The three opened the door and walked in to see Xed leaning over a weapon (Marluxia's), working on it. She looked up at them. The bruise on her face had become darker, with red splotches mixed in. She smiled at them sweetly nonetheless. Roxas smiled back.

She still looked beautiful in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" Axel asked. Xed nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Xed replied.

"Vexen said you should put some ice on it." Demyx said, holding out a small bag of ice wrapped in a paper towel. Xed took it and smiled.

"Thanks." She sat down in a chair and put the ice to her face. Axel cocked his head.

"What'd you do to Larxene?" he asked. Xed sighed, annoyed.

"Nothing." She replied coldly. "It's what she did to herself."

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked. Xed looked up at him.

"I know you won't believe me if I told you." She said. Roxas smiled.

"Try me." She sighed.

"Well, I sort of have this—"

"ROXAS!!!"

The four could hear Xemnas called from the upper floor. Roxas grunted and made a face. Xed laughed at how silly he looked. He smiled.

Music to his ears.

"I'll be back." Roxas said, as he dashed out of the room.

Roxas slowly opened the door to Xemnas' office and looked inside. Xemnas was standing, his back facing Roxas, staring out of the window.

"Come in, Roxas." He said, without even turning around. Roxas stepped in. By his tone of voice, he knew this wasn't going to be good, whatever he wanted.

"What do you want?" Roxas asked. Xemnas turned around to face him. His eyes were colder than usual…it sent shivers up and down Roxas' spine.

"How would you react to a 14th edition to the Organization?" Roxas raised his eyebrows. They hadn't had a new addition in a long time.

"Who?" Roxas asked. Xemnas smiled…too nicely…

"Xedramon."

Roxas' eyes became wide. Xed? Xed was going to be brought into the Organization?

"Really?" he said, smiling excitedly. This was awesome! Xemnas nodded slowly.

"Really…" he replied. Roxas then realized something. Something REALLY important.

"Xemnas, Xed isn't a Nobody."

Xemnas smiled deviously. He had a strange gleam in his eyes.

"Yes, I'm quite aware of that." Roxas cocked his head.

"Well, she can't become part of the Organization if she still has her heart." He said. Xemnas nodded.

"I know that." He said. He then walked towards Roxas. He stopped in front of him and grabbed Roxas' hand, pushing something into it. Roxas looked at his hand and gasped in horror.

It…was Xed's stolen Keychain!

"Wha…?" Roxas said, unsure what to say or feel. He looked up at Xemnas, at his strange coldness in his eyes. Roxas' eyes widened.

No, oh no…

"Which is why, Roxas…" Xemnas said. Roxas wanted to turn and run, to not hear the rest.

No, oh no…

Xemnas please no!!!

Xemnas smiled evilly.

No!!!

"I want you to steal her heart."


	11. The Ultimate Desicion

Roxas stepped back from him, his eyes wide. He felt weak where his heart should be, and he nearly dropped the Keychain in his hand.

"Wha…wha???" He choked out in disbelief. He swallowed and found his voice. "I can't do that!"

"It's not a request, Roxas. It's an order." Xemnas said calmly. Roxas shook his head, anger painted on his face.

"I can't do that!" he repeated. "I won't!!!" Xemnas laughed.

"You don't have a choice."

"Yes I do! I'm not going to hurt Xed!" Roxas shouted, before turning away to walk out of the room.

"Xed will only get hurt more if you don't do this."

Roxas stopped and turned around to face Xemnas with a puzzled look.

"What do you mean?" He asked, not wanting to. Xemnas smirked.

"Xed will end up losing her heart in the end, whether you take it or not." He said. Roxas raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused.

"Huh?"

"Xed is a Keyblade Master, as are you, Roxas." Xemnas started. "Of course, the darkness will attempt to take her heart, and will eventually succeed." He sighed. "We can't handle another Keyblader for the darkness…" Roxas wanted to ask him what he meant, but didn't.

"I won't take her heart." He said. Xemnas turned towards him.

"Then I'll be forced to kill her."

"WHATTTTT????" Roxas shouted, horrified and angered at his words.

"I won't put this Organization in danger, Roxas." He said sternly.

"But Xed's not dangerous!" He said.

"This is nonnegotiable." Xemnas said. He took a breath.

"You have three choices. You can take her heart or you can kill her. Or, I'll kill her myself." He hissed bitterly. Roxas gritted his teeth, holding back sudden tears.

"But…I like her…" he said softly, sadness in his voice. Xemnas rolled his eyes.

"Please, Roxas." He said, uncaring. "You are a Nobody. You have no emotion. Therefore you cannot like someone." Roxas looked down at the ground. Xemnas put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure she never liked you anyways." He whispered.

Lies, all lies.

Roxas tore away from Xemnas' grip and walked over to the door. He knew what he'd do. He'd tell Xed. She could leave, and he wouldn't have to hurt her. Xemnas wouldn't be able to hurt her. They'd meet again when it was safe.

"And Roxas?" Xemnas called. Roxas stopped in the middle of the doorway, but didn't turn around. Xemnas smiled evilly behind him.

"You are to tell no one of this, or the choice shall become mine."

If Roxas had a heart, it would've snapped into a million pieces at his words. Roxas walked out and slammed the door closed behind him.

Roxas lay on his bed in his room. His mind was a swirling torrent of confusion and fear.

He couldn't take Xed's heart. He wouldn't. The life of a Nobody wasn't so bad, but…he didn't want it for her. She had so much she wanted to do that the Organization would stop.

Finding her home, finding Kuxir…

Roxas chuckled. He hadn't even asked her about Kuxir. He was going to, but now it made no difference.

Besides, if she lost her heart, she'd no longer feel. Her smiles wouldn't be…the way that they were. Her laugh would lose its music. She'd be different, and he didn't want that.

But he also didn't want her dead.

If she were dead, there'd be no more smiles. There'd be no more laughs.

There'd be no more Xed.

The thought stirred something inside him, that threatened to let a tear run lose down his face.

He shook his head of the thought. He sat up; his decision made. He took the Keychain still in his hand and hooked it to the end of his Oathkeeper Keyblade. It morphed into a sleek dark red and blue blade that seemed to seethe with darkness.

He'd take her heart.

Xed and Roxas were standing in the arena of the outside battling area. Earlier on, Roxas had asked her if she'd like to fight against him again. She gladly agreed. He couldn't smile thought. He had his plan.

To break her heart and his own.

If he had one.

A few of the Organization members came to watch the fight: Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, and Vexen. They had loved seeing the two fight last time, and were anticipating an exciting battle.

Xed and Roxas readied themselves. Roxas summoned only his Oblivion Keyblade. He was saving his tainted Oathkeeper for later. Xed cocked her head, smiling.

"Only one?" she asked, still smiling. Roxas nodded. She shrugged.

"Okay. I'll fight with one as well." She summoned her Keyblade (which he had found out she called 'Tainted Strength'), and assumed her battle position. Roxas assumed his. Vexen stood up.

"Ready in 3…" he shouted.

Roxas and Xed nodded to each other, as if to say good luck.

"…2…"

"Good luck, Roxas…"

Roxas turned around. Behind him, outside of the gate, was Xemnas. He had come to make sure he did what he was supposed to. Roxas gulped and turned back around.

There'd be no turning back now.

"…1…"

Silence. Pure silence.

"…GO!!!"

Roxas charged at her, Keyblade in hand. He swung at her, but she easily ducked. She swung her own Keyblade at Roxas, which nearly hit him in his head. He swung at her again, but she jumped and dodged it. She smiled.

"Come on, Roxas!" she called. "Make this hard for me!" she shouted. Roxas had an idea.

He could use his element against her.

He then raised his hand. Xed cocked her head.

What was he doing?

Suddenly, an orb of light appeared in his hand. He smiled slyly. He then threw it up the air, and when it came back down, he whacked it with his Keyblade, straight at Xed. Xed, caught off guard by his strange attack, raised her Keyblade and whacked it when it came towards her like a baseball. She raised an eyebrow and smiled, impressed.

"Nice one, but we're fighting, not playing baseball!" she shouted amused. Roxas summoned another, larger light orb.

"Oh, we're definitely fighting!" she shouted back, tossing the orb into the air. It split into countless smaller light orbs. He then starting whacking the orbs at Xed at a rapid speed. She tried hitting as many as she could, but many of them hit her. Once the shower of orbs was gone, she looked up at Roxas.

"I can see you're getting better. But you're gonna have to do better to beat me!" she shouted as she charged at him. Roxas smiled.

He definitely had another plan.

Right before she came close to him, he created a Corridor of Darkness and stepped inside, vanishing. Xed stopped charging and looked around. She rolled her eyes.

"Roxas! Stop hiding!" she shouted to the sky. Out of the blue, a portal opened up behind Xed and Roxas jumped out, attacking her from the back. She turned around, barely blocking his attack. Before she could have a chance to strike, he created another portal and disappeared. Xed laughed.

"No fair! How am I supposed to attack you if I can't see you?" she called. Another portal opened up behind her and Roxas jumped out.

"You're not!" he shouted as he attacked. This time, she didn't have the time to put up her Keyblade and block, so she jumped backwards, and nearly lost her balance. Roxas came swinging at her again, and she jumped back again, this time tripping and falling on the ground. She looked up at Roxas to see his Oblivion pointed at her throat. Xed smiled.

"Hey! Stop stealing my move!" she said, jokingly. Roxas smiled back.

"I'm not stealing it, I'm borrowing it." He replied. She rolled her eyes.

"I give! Roxas wins." She said.

There was a roar of cheering and clapping for both Keybladers from the audience of Nobodies standing nearby.

"Way to take her, Roxas!" Axel called.

"That was an awesome fight!" Luxord yelled.

"You'll get him next time, Xed!" Demyx shouted.

Roxas' smile faded. He could feel the cold, unforgiving, impatient glare he was receiving from Xemnas.

He had to do it now.

Roxas dismissed his Oblivion. He looked back at Xed, who was still on the ground, catching her breath. She smiled up at him.

Roxas didn't smile back.

After this, he'd never smile again.

He held out his hand.

"Roxas," Xed said, "what are you doing?"

Darkness swirled around his hand, and in a flash of dark light, the red and blue Keyblade appeared in his hand. Xed looked mortified.

"Roxas! That's my stolen Keyblade! How did you…" she said, trailing off.

By now the entire audience of Nobodies had grown silent.

"Roxas," Xed said, fright in her voice, "you stole it?" Roxas didn't respond. By now his arm was shaking. He was terrified.

"Xed…" he whispered. "I'm sorry…"

He raised the Keyblade above his head, trying to steady it, and trying to force himself to attack her. Xed sat there are the ground, paralyzed with confusion, fright, and shock. He could dimly hear the shouts of the Nobodies watching, telling him to stop.

But they were far away now.

His whole body was now shaking with fear. He closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry…" he choked out, close to tears.

"I'm so sorry…"


	12. Secrets and Mysterious Voices

CLATTER!!!!!

The dark Keyblade clattered noisily to the ground, the sound echoing out in the vast arena.

Roxas stood there, shaking.

He…had almost…done it…

Xed breathed hard, shaking.

He…had almost…done it…

Roxas looked at her. Her eyes were pools of fear.

Xed looked at him. His eyes were pools of fear.

Roxas started to back away.

"Roxas…" Xed breathed, still frightened. Suddenly, Roxas turned and ran out of the arena and into the Castle. Xed turned to watch him. She wanted to jump up and run after him, but her legs felt somewhat weak after what just was about to happen. Axel ran after Roxas, while Demyx ran into the arena towards Xed. Everyone else stayed where they were, in complete shock. Actually, everyone was in such shock, that no one noticed Xemnas had left…

"Xed!" Demyx called as he ran over to her. "Are you ok?" He extended a hand out to her. She took it and let him help her up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said quietly. She then looked up at Demyx. "Roxas…stole my Keychain? But why?" Demyx looked at her with sad eyes.

"I don't think he did. He wouldn't…"

"But then why did he have it?" Demyx shook his head.

"I don't know…"

Roxas ran into his room and slammed the door, leaning against it and catching his breath, still shaking.

He had almost hurt her!

He had almost taken her heart!

Roxas closed his eyes, breathing deeply. All he could see was the terror that was embedded in Xed's faded gray eyes. For such beautiful eyes, they could hold some hideous terror…

"Roxas!" A voice shouted from the other side of the door. It was Axel. He rapped on the door. "Open up now!" Roxas backed away from the door.

"No!" Roxas shouted back,

"Roxas, I promise if you don't open this door now, I'll burn it down!!!" he shouted, obviously angry.

"Yeah right!" Roxas shouted back, placing his back against the door again. Suddenly, his back became very hot, and the smell of burning word filled the air. He then realized that Axel was really burning the door down!

"Okay I'll open it!" Roxas shouted, opening the door. He looked up to see Axel standing there with his arms crossed.

"What happened out there?" he said. Roxas shook his head and looked down at the ground.

"Nothing…" he replied softly.

Thank goodness for that.

" 'Nothing' didn't happen out there, Roxas!" Axel said. "You had her stolen Keyblade, and was about to take her heart!" Roxas turned away from him. Axel sighed.

"Fine, then answer this: How'd you get it?" Roxas shook his head.

"I…can't say…" Axel cocked his head.

"Why not?"

"I just can't!"

"WHY NOT?"

"I CAN'T! OK? IF I SAY HE'LL HURT XED!!!" Roxas blurted out, close to tears again. He immediately slapped his hand over his mouth. Axel's eyes narrowed, and he seemed angry.

"Someone's making you do this?" he asked. Roxas said nothing and sat down on his bed. Axel sat down with him.

"Who?" he asked quietly. Roxas shook his head. "Come on Roxas! You can tell me!" Roxas put his face in his hands and mumbled something axel couldn't make out.

"What?" Axel said, pulling Roxas' hands away from his face.

"Xemnas." He said tearfully. "He said that he wants Xed in the Organization, and he wants me to steal her heart so she's a Nobody. So he stole the Keychain and gave it to me to use. And he said if I didn't take her heart, of if I told anyone about this, he'll kill Xed." Axel clenched his teeth. He got up and walked towards the door.

"That no good, son of a—"

"Wait! Axel!" Roxas called, standing up. Axel turned back towards him.

"What?" he said.

"You can't tell him! He'll know I told, and he'll kill Xed!"

"Then what are we going to do?" Roxas sighed.

"I don't know…"

Xed was sitting at the kitchen table with a sketchpad. She was doodling something in it.

"Hello."

Xed turned to see Vexen walking into the kitchen. She smiled weakly, and returned back to doodling. He sat down at the table. He smiled at her.

"What are you drawing?" he asked. Xed shook her head.

"Nothing." Vexen frowned.

"Still upset about what happened?" he asked. She put down her pencil.

"It's not that. It's just…" she shook her head. "I'm leaving tomorrow, and I wanted to tell Roxas something. But he keeps avoiding me." Vexen cocked his head.

"You're leaving?" She nodded.

"Tonight I'll finish Marluxia's weapon, and that'll be it." Vexen nodded slowly.

"We'll all miss you." He said with a smiled. Xed smiled back slightly.

"I'll miss you all too, but Roxas…" she said, trailing off. Vexen smiled slyly.

"You'll miss him more than you would us, right?" She looked up at him and blushed.

"Of course not!" she retorted. Vexen rolled his eyes.

"Sure." He smiled. "What did you want to tell him?"

"A secret." She said. Vexen nodded. She looked down, and then back up at him nervously.

"I wanted to tell everyone, but Roxas was going to be first. Can I tell you?" she asked timidly. Vexen nodded.

"Sure you can. I promise I won't tell anyone." He said. She was about to say something when…

"Hi Xed!"

The two of them turned to see Demyx come down the stairs into the kitchen. He smiled.

"Hey Xed, you wanna do for a walk with me?" he asked cheerfully. Xed nodded and smiled.

"Okay!" she got up from her seat. Demyx walked towards the door. She looked back at Vexen.

"Umm, hold on real quick." She said. Demyx nodded. Xed then leaned towards Vexen's ear and whispered something. His eyes became wide at her words. He looked up at her, his expression a mix of fright and shock. He looked at her eyes, searching for some sign that she was lying. Her eyes had none.

"You…you…" he said, in disbelief, putting his hand to where his heart should've been. Xed nodded. She then walked over to where Demyx was. He raised an eyebrow.

"What'd you say?" Demyx asked. Xed shook her head.

"It was nothing." Demyx shrugged and opened the door for her. While walking out, she turned and gave Vexen a remember-you-promised look. Vexen nodded as she walked outside and Demyx closed the door after them.

Roxas and Axel walked up to Xemnas' office. Axel had convinced Roxas that they should tell him to leave Xed alone, and that the two of them would protect her if they needed to. Axel pushed the door open.

No one was inside.

"Roxas, look!" Axel said, walking over to Xemnas' desk. Roxas walked over with him. A note was taped to his desk.

"What's it say?" he asked. Axel picked it up, read it, and his face turned pale. Roxas cocked his head.

"What's it say?" he repeated, becoming nervous. Axel cleared his throat and read it aloud:

'Roxas—

You are traitor to the Organization. I'll take care of you later.

But first, I have a certain Keyblader to take care of.

Mercy?

Dream on.

—Xemnas'

Demyx and Xed were walking along the streets of The World That Never Was. It was about 9:00 p.m. It was dark, but the light of the Moon made it able to see things clearly. Demyx looked over at Xed, who was frowning. He frowned too. He didn't like it when she was sad.

"What's wrong?" he asked. Xed shook her head.

"Why won't Roxas talk to me?" she asked. Demyx shrugged.

"I don't know. He hasn't talked to any of us. Axel went to check on him, but I'm not sure how that went." Xed nodded, still frowning. Demyx crossed his arms and thought for a moment.

What could I do to make her smile? He thought. He then snapped his fingers and smiled.

He got it! He'd show her a water trick he learned.

"Hey Xed?" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. She looked up into his smiling face.

"You wanna see something cool?" he asked. Xed nodded. He smiled wider. "Ok, stay here." He said, creating a Corridor of Darkness to the Castle That Never Was. He stepped through and disappeared. She sighed and leaned against a nearby building.

"Hello, Xedramon…" an eerie voice from the shadows of a nearby alley called.


	13. Told Secrets and Pain

Roxas and Axel were running down the stairs, searching desperately for Xed.

"Where is she?" Roxas said, nearly tripping while running down stairs. Axel, running equally as fast, shook his head.

"I don't know, but we gotta find her before Xemnas does!" he said. The two came to the end of the stairs, and turned sharply around the corner—

WHAM!!!

The two Nobodies smacked into another Nobody, and all three fell down on the floor…and they were all wet?

"What?" Roxas said, looking over at the Nobody who smacked into them, which just happened to be Demyx.

"Why are we wet?" Axel said, standing up and helping Roxas up. Demyx stood up with two now empty water bottles in hand.

"I spilled the water when you guys knocked me over." He said, slightly irate. "Now I have to go fill them up again. I hope Xed doesn't mind wai—"

"Wait!" Roxas said. "Xed is with you?"

"Was. She's outside. I left her to go get some water so I—" but Demyx's explanation was cut short by Roxas grabbing Demyx's shoulders and shaking him violently.

"WHAT THE SMOOF IS WRONG WITH YOU??? YOU LEFT XED OUT IN A DARK CITY AT NIGHT WHEN XEMNAS IS TRYING TO KILL HER ARE YOU MAD?????" Roxas shouted angrily, still shaking him. Axel pulled Roxas away from Demyx, who was now feeling a little seasick from all the shaking.

"Calm down Roxas!" Axel yelled at him. "Freaking out isn't going to help!" Demyx cocked his head.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Xemnas is going to kill Xed because Roxas didn't steal her heart." Axel explained. Demyx's eyes got wide.

"No…" he whispered, shaking his head. "What are we going to do?" Roxas crossed his arms.

"I don't know! We've got to find her!" He said.

"Or Xemnas." Axel added. Demyx nodded.

"I can take you to her." He said. Just then, Vexen walked by, and, seeing Roxas, stopped.

"Hey Roxas, the next time you see Xed, she wants to tell you something." He said. Roxas sighed angrily.

"There's not going to be a next time if we don't do something quick!" He shouted impatiently. Vexen raised an eyebrow.

"Is there a problem?" Demyx looked over at him.

"Xemnas is going to kill Xed because Roxas didn't steal her heart like he told him to!" he said, scared. Vexen's eyes widened.

"What?" he said shocked. "Where's Xed?"

"Outside, in the dark city, 'cause Demyx had to be stupid and leave her out there!!!" Roxas yelled angrily. Demyx shot him a look.

"Well I didn't know!" He yelled back, equally as angry.

"YOU DON'T LEAVE PEOPLE OUTSIDE IN DARK CITIES!!!"

"I SAID I DIDN'T KNOW!!!!"

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT THE SMOOF UP???" Axel screamed, startling both of them and getting them quiet.

"What's going on down here?"

The four Nobodies turned to see Xemnas walking down the stairs towards them.

Wait, Xemnas???

"Xemnas?" The four Nobodies chorused in surprise. What was he doing here?

"Yes, that's my name. Now what is going on?" he said gruffly. Roxas gritted his teeth and went up to him.

"What did you do to Xed?" Roxas demanded, clenching his fists. Xemnas raised an eyebrow.

"What are you—"?

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO XED????" Roxas yelled in fury. Xemnas narrowed his eyes.

"First of all, you don't talk to your Superior like that. And second, I have no idea what you are talking about." He said. Axel walked towards him, taking a folded piece of paper out of his pocket.

"We found this on your desk when we came to talk to you and you weren't there." He said, handing Xemnas the note. Xemnas read it and his eyes became wide. He looked up.

And he looked…scared?

Xemnas was NEVER scared…

"I never wrote this!" Xemnas said. "I'd never hurt Xed!" Roxas looked at him.

"But…but you said you'd kill Xed if I didn't steal her heart like you told me to!" he said. Xemnas crossed his arms and stared at the wall.

"I know I said that…but…" he took a breath. "I'd never actually hurt her. I think she's a very nice girl, who has extraordinary talents. I wanted her in the Organization because of that. And because of something else."

"What?" Vexen asked. Xemnas looked at him.

"There's another…" he started, but shook his head. "You needn't know about them now. But, there are people who want the heart of a Keyblader. Roxas is safe, since he doesn't have a heart. But Xed is not…which is why I wanted you to take her heart. That way…"

"…She'd be safe." Roxas finished. Xemnas nodded.

"So, you only wanted to protect her." Demyx said. Xemnas nodded. Axel smirked.

"I never knew our boss was such a softie." He said. Xemnas glared at him.

"Call me that again and I'll—"

"Wait!" Vexen called out suddenly. Everyone looked at him.

"You can't steal her heart! No one can!" he said. Xemnas raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that?" he asked. Vexen bit his lip.

Should he tell them?

Xed would hate him for this.

But she'd forgive him…eventually…

Vexen took at breath and looked up at them.

"Because…" he closed his eyes and turned away.

"Xed doesn't have a heart…"

"Who's there?" Xed asked nervously, turning around towards where the voice was. She summoned one of her Keyblades. The voice laughed.

"Nobody." The voice said. The figure stepped out of the shadows, and Xed got a better look at him…well, not so much… The figure had a black and red coat on. It was somewhat like the Organization coat, but with no zippers. The hood was up, the face completely shrouded in shadows. Xed gritted her teeth.

"Get lost!" she said, readying herself to fight. The figure laughed again.

"I'm already lost, but not as lost you are…" she cocked her head. What did he mean by that?

Suddenly, the figure summoned two Aerial blades, exactly like Xemnas', but they were a grayish color. He charged at her, but she jumped and dodged. She swung her Keyblade at him, whacking him in his shoulder. The figure clutched his shoulder. He chuckled.

"Dodge and hit." He said. He looked up at her. "I can tell Kuxir taught you how to fight." Xed's eyes widened.

"You know Kuxir?" she asked. He chuckled again.

"Yes, and I know where he is."

"Where is he?" She asked, wanting to know. She could feel him smile under the shadows on his face. Suddenly, he disappeared in a white vortex. She looked around, but he wasn't there. She heard him laugh again, his voice echoing in the skies. She looked up, but he wasn't there.

"Why, Kuxir is with the Disorder…"

Suddenly, a white portal appeared behind her, along with the figure. Before Xed could turn around, the figure brought one of his Aerial blades smashing into the side of her torso. Xed yelled out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching her injured side. The figure laughed as he rose into the air.

"It's just like Kuxir to forget to teach you to always look behind you." He said, amused at her pain. He then raised both of his arms and summoned about 50 gray Aerial blades, and started to throw then at her with a rapid pace. Xed rolled to the side and dodged one that came dangerously close to her head. She then scrambled to her feet and did the only thing she could do at the moment.

Run.

"Aww, is little Xedramon running away again? It's just like you to run away from your fears…" the figure taunted, still throwing blades at her.

If it weren't for the fact that she wasn't in condition to fight back, she would've ripped the guys head off for saying that. She continued to run, ignoring the blazing pain in her side. She came to a dark alley, far away from where the figure was. She ran down it, and leaned against a wall to catch her breath. Apparently, she had lost the figure. All was silent. She closed her eyes.

He knew where Kuxir was?

And what did he mean that he was 'with the Disorder'?

"Roxas…" she whispered. She didn't know why, but right now she wanted to be with him. To hold hands with him. To watch the sunset on the Station Tower with him. To have him smile at her. She smiled to herself.

She really loved his smile.

"Reminiscing, are we?"

Xed opened her eyes and looked up to the sky. No one was there. But the voice had belonged to the figure. Suddenly, she was knocked from where she was standing against the wall and onto the ground. She looked up to see the figure, which had tackled her and was pinning her to the ground.

"What do you want with me?" Xed yelled, struggling underneath him. Once again, she could feel a slow smile grow under his hood.

"Quite frankly, I'd like you dead. Kuxir will only keep looking for you if you're still alive." He chuckled. "And we can't have that, now can we?" Xed was surprised.

Kuxir was…looking for her?

She had to get out of his grip. She managed to get one arm free from his grasp. She then summoned her Keyblade and whacked the figure in the head with it. He was knocked off of her, and he grasped his head and moaned in both pain and anger. He then leapt off the ground, grasped Xed around her neck, and slammed her into the side of the building. Xed could feel his grip tightening, and she found it hard to breathe. Through the shadows of his face, a pair of golden yellow eyes shone through. She could feel his twisted smile direct towards her.

"If only you had given into the darkness the first time…" He said, tightening his grip on her neck. Xed tried to pry his hands off her neck, but couldn't. She started coughing, desperately trying to breathe. Her face turned pale, and darkness began to cloud her vision, coming closer and closer. His smile grew more twisted.

"This wouldn't hurt so much…"


	14. Given a Choice?

"GET AWAY FROM HER!!!"

Oathkeeper came flying at the figure, and slammed into his head. The figure let go of Xed, and she slid down the side of the building onto the ground. The Keyblade boomeranged back into Roxas' hand. He charged at the figure, both of his Keyblades in hand. He swung wildly, attacking the figure with fierceness. The figure jumped back and dodged. Roxas could feel the figure smile evilly under his hood. He then disappeared through a white portal. Once gone, Roxas ran towards Xed, who was sitting on the ground, coughing, trying to breathe. He kneeled next to her.

"Are you ok?" he asked, grabbing her hand and helping her up. She nodded, and her coughing ceased.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said, her voice slightly raspy. She smiled. Roxas smiled back.

That really nice smile.

"ROXAS WE SORTA NEED YOU!!!!"

Roxas and Xed turned to the other end of the alley, where a voice that belonged to Demyx had called. The two ran down the alley and out towards the streets.

A hoard of Heartless had gathered around Axel, Demyx, Vexen, and Xemnas, and was closing in. Axel looked over at Demyx, glaring.

"Demyx, for the record, I blame you." He said. Demyx glared back at him.

"Why do you blame me?" he asked. Axel chuckled.

" 'Cause I can." He said. Demyx rolled his eyes. Just then, Roxas and Xed came running towards them, but stopped due to the mass of Heartless surrounding them.

"GUYS!" Roxas called, getting their attention. Axel looked over at Xed and smiled.

"Hey Xed! You ok?" He shouted. Xed nodded.

"I'm fine! You guys need some help in there?" she shouted back.

"That'd be nice, considering we don't have weapons…" Xemnas shouted, crossing his arms and glaring at Vexen. Vexen glared back.

"Ok, we're coming!" Roxas shouted. He looked over at Xed, and the two nodded once at each other. They each summoned two Keyblades, and charged into the huge rabble of Heartless.

As the two Keybladers used their weapons to fight, the rest of them used their elements to fight.

It was a long, tiring battle, but in the end, every last Heartless was destroyed. Roxas and Xed called off their weapons and smiled at each other. Xemnas walked over to both of them.

"Before anything else can happen," he said, slightly annoyed at how the evening was going, "Let's get back to the Castle." Vexen nodded.

"We have…some explaining to do…" he said, looking at the ground. Xed smiled.

"I guess I have some explaining as well…"

About an hour later, all of the Organization members and Xed were in the living room. Xemnas explained about Roxas trying to steal her heart and him stealing her Keychain. Xed explained about her not having a heart to begin with. Roxas, who was sitting next to her, looked over at her.

"But Xed there's still one thing I don't get." He said. She looked over at him. "Why didn't you tell us you didn't have a heart in the first place?" Xed shrugged and shook her head, looking down at the floor.

"I don't know…it just never really came to mind to let you all know." She said. She looked up at Roxas. "I was going to tell you first, but you kept avoiding me. After I told you, I was going to tell everyone else."

"So, does that mean you're a Nobody?" Demyx asked. Xaldin shot him a look.

"What else would she be, Stupid?" he remarked. Demyx gave him an angry look. Xed chuckled.

Wouldn't they like to know…

"Yeah Demyx, I'm a Nobody." Xed said, smiling. Her smile faded.

"What's wrong?" Roxas asked. She looked over at Xemnas.

"Xemnas…who was that who attacked me?"

Silence.

Xemnas let out a sigh.

"I…I don't know." He said, hesitantly. Xed narrowed her eyes.

She could tell he was hiding something, but she decided not to ask what it was.

Xemnas stood up and walked over to her.

"Xedramon." He said, a serious expression on his face. "I'd like to…apologize…for tonight's events." Xed shook her head, smiling.

"That's alright, you don't need to—" Xemnas held his hand up, as a gesture for her to stop speaking. She closed her mouth and looked up at him.

"Please, let me finish." He said. "I'd like to apologize on behalf of the Organization, mainly myself, for what happened. I…didn't mean to hurt you…in anyway…if I did…"

A few of the Organization members were holding back stifled laughs at their boss' pathetic attempt to apologize. Nevertheless, they all listened with great interest, and Xed listened as well.

"Xedramon. I must say you have very unique talents, and very special powers." Xemnas said. He looked up at the ceiling, and then back at Xedramon.

"I'd…be most grateful…honored even…if you joined the Organization XIII."

Xed's eyes widened in excitement. Xemnas really wanted her to join the Organization!? There were a few excited and surprised murmurs across the room. Xemnas cleared his throat loudly, and regained everyone's attention.

"The skills you possess would be very useful to the Organization, and having yet another Keyblade Master would make our Organization stronger." He said. Xed nodded slowly. She could see Roxas smiling at her out of the corner of her eye. She smiled back. Xemnas crossed his arms behind his back.

"Normally, Xedramon, I would bring a new member-to-be into the Organization, whether they wanted to or not, like I had done with the Members VII through XIII." There were a few annoyed comments in the background. Xemnas waited a moment, and then continued:

"But, seeing after what the Organization, mainly myself, has put you through, I'm giving you something no one else in the Organization has ever had before." Xed looked up at him.

"A choice."

There were a few soft gasps of surprise from the other members of the Organization. Xed was shocked.

"Really?" she asked, stunned. Xemnas nodded.

"Xedramon." He said.

The room grew quiet.

"Would you like to become the 14th member of Organization XIII?"

Xed couldn't help but smile. She was given a choice! She looked over at Roxas, who was smiling back at her. She knew he'd like her to stay, along with Axel, Demyx, and the other friends she made in the Organization. She then frowned slightly.

But what about her home?

But what about her 'job' of fixing weapons?

But what about Kuxir?

She looked down at the ground.

Kuxir…

She closed her eyes for a minute and nodded once.

She knew what she wanted to do.

She looked up at Xemnas, who looked down at her. She smiled.

"Xemnas." She said. Everyone listened intently, especially Roxas.

"I…"


	15. I Promise

Xed looked at the ground, and smiled. She shook her head lightly, and then looked up at Xemnas.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay."

The room grew quieter, hanging with slight disappointment. Xed frowned, feeling Roxas' expression of sadness next to her.

"You see," she started, "I'm…looking for someone, and I'm looking for something as well." She smiled weakly. "I'm sorry…" Xemnas nodded, and did something no one sees him do.

Xemnas…smiled.

Small, but definitely a smile.

"I understand." He said. Xed smiled back. Demyx smiled and stood up.

"Ya know, Xed," he said, putting an arm around her shoulder, "We're all gonna miss you." Xed smiled.

"Yeah, even Larxene!" Marluxia said. She scowled.

"Will not…" she retorted. Lexaeus rolled his eyes.

"Honestly Larxene, you're not going to miss Xed?"

"Nope."

"Not even a little bit?" Axel asked. She shook her head.

"No way." Larxene looked over at Xed, who seemed just a bit hurt by her words. Larxene sighed and rolled her eyes. "Maybe I'll miss her a little…" Demyx cracked a smile.

"Wow! Really?" he asked. She scowled more and nodded. Xigbar smiled.

"Awww…Larxene's a softie!" he said. She shot a death glare at him.

"You're not going to think I'm a softie when I take my Kunai and stick it up your—"

"When are you leaving?" Zexion asked, quickly changing the subject. Xed thought for a moment.

"Tomorrow afternoon." She said. He nodded.

"Are you going to come back and visit?" Luxord asked. Xed nodded her head enthusiastically.

"Of course!" she said. "I don't know when, but I'll definitely come back."

"Well." Xemnas said, crossing his arms. "I believe this has been enough excitement for one day. I suppose we all get some sleep." There were nods in agreement, and the crowd of Nobodies broke apart to get sleep. Roxas, Axel, Demyx, and Xed stayed where they were. Xed stood up.

"Well, I've got one more thing to do before I leave tomorrow." She said. "Goodnight guys." She walked off downstairs towards the Workshop.

"Night." The three Nobodies chorused after. After she was gone, Axel looked over at Roxas.

"So, you gonna tell her?" Roxas gave him a confused look.

"Tell her what?"

"You know," Demyx said, lowering his voice, "that you like her." Roxas seemed surprised.

"I don't like her!" he said, crossing his arms. Axel rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh, sure you don't." he said. Demyx put his hands on his hips.

"You heard Xed—she doesn't know when she's going to come back. After she leaves today, there's a possibility that she'll never be back." He said. Roxas turned away from them.

He hadn't realized that.

Axel sighed.

"Roxas, what you do is what you want. But, if you really cared for Xed…" he started, before turning around and walking off towards the stairs. He turned back around to face Roxas.

"You'd let her know." Axel then turned back around and walked up the stairs. Demyx walked up after him.

"Night Roxas!" he called, stomping up the steps. Roxas sat back down on the sofa.

He hadn't realized that…

Roxas lay awake in his bed, Demyx's and Axel's word buzzing around in his head.

"You heard Xed—she doesn't know when she's going to come back…"

Roxas sighed.

"…After she leaves today, there's a possibility that she'll never be back."

He turned over to his side. Should he tell her?

"Roxas, what you do is what you want. But, if you really cared for Xed…"

He, without a doubt, liked Xed. A lot. And he wanted to tell her.

But…what if she doesn't like me back?

"You'd let her know."

But after today…she'd be gone. For who knows how long? And he'd then be wondering if she had liked him, what she'd say when he told her he liked her, until she came back again…if she came back…

Roxas closed his eyes and nodded.

He knew what he'd do.

He'd tell her.

Roxas woke up early the next morning, around 8:00 a.m., so he could talk with Xed alone. He walked down the stairs towards the Weapons Workshop. He stood in front of the door and took a breath. He knocked on the door twice.

No answer.

"Xed?" Roxas said quietly, careful not to wake her if she was sleeping. He turned the knob and opened the door a crack and looked in.

She wasn't there, but the room looked…different…

He opened the door all the way and walked in. He looked around and realized why the room had looked so different. All of Xed's belongings—her sketchpads, her cases of Keychains, everything—was gone. He looked around more, and eyed a note taped to her desk. He picked it up and started to read:

'Dear Roxas,

If you are reading this, then I'm gone. I…left earlier this morning, when no one was awake.'

Roxas could feel his heart drop…if he had one…

'I'm sorry…I just hate long goodbyes. Especially sad ones. And trust me, this would've been a sad one. I addressed this note to you, Roxas, because I had a feeling that you'd be the one to read it. I hope you are the one to read it. Let everyone know I'm sorry for leaving, and that I'll come back some day.

I promise.'

Roxas smiled slightly. Her promise made him feel better.

'I put everyone's new weapons in the kitchen, if you haven't noticed yet. Tell Vexen to take it easy on those experiments of his, okay?'

Roxas chuckled.

'Let everyone know that I miss them terribly already.'

Roxas nodded. Her missed her already, too.

'Well, be seeing ya. Dream on,

Xedramon (a.k.a – Xed)

(P.S. – Roxas, I have a surprise for you as well in the kitchen)'

Roxas cocked his head.

What surprise?

Roxas ran downstairs into the kitchen. He stopped suddenly at the sight before his eyes.

"Woah…" he breathed. Sitting in each of the 13 chairs (except for Roxas', Xemnas', Zexion's, Larxene's, and Luxord's) set up around the kitchen table, was a new, shiny weapon. They looked liked their old ones, but much more advanced.

And dangerous. Roxas smiled.

Xigbar would definitely like that.

Roxas sighed unhappily.

He never got a chance to tell her that he liked her. But she promised she'd come back.

And he believed her.

Roxas went over to his own seat to sit down. He pulled out the chair and almost sat down when he realized there was something in his chair.

A small, white box.

Roxas picked it up and sat down.

Was this the surprise?

He opened the lid of the box, and gasped softly.

There was a Keychain inside…the Devoted Hearts one!

He picked it up and looked at it, admiring it. He then saw another note at the bottom of the box. He picked it up and read it.

He smiled. And felt something he hadn't felt before…

'To Roxas—

From my Heart to Yours:

A Keyblade truly worthy,

Of such a Devoted Heart.'

THE END!!!!!!

(I hope you enjoyed it!!!)


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